Murphy – Presiding Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers extended the date for discovery to June 30, 2025, mediation to Aug. 14, 2025, and a trial date no earlier than September 2025 in a lawsuit filed against Cherokee County conservative activist Margaret Ackiss.
The order came amid a contentious discovery period where Karen Close, the plaintiff in the $100,000 libel and slander lawsuit against Ackiss, refused to answer some of Ackiss’ discovery questions and two witnesses – Leo Phillips and Michelle Nix – have contested subpoenas for various reasons.
Despite that, Ackiss’ case gained momentum with evidence supporting her claim that Close was convicted of a felony and should have been ineligible for a seat on the Cherokee County Republican Party Executive Committee.
A 2019 police report in Florida said Close “knowingly accepted the 2011 Ford truck valued at $25,516.76 she willfully and intentionally deprived the dealership of their vehicle after withholding payment” when she stopped payment on checks to the seller.
“Ackiss seeks support for her meritorious defenses, including a truth defense,” according to her Morrisville-based lawyer, Nathan Huff. “Indeed, it is true that plaintiff pled guilty to the felony fraud that is the subject of alleged statements at issue in this case. She was charged with intentionally stopping payment on checks to a Florida car dealership in order to misappropriate a Ford pickup truck. Plaintiff is also the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation related to her prior employment at a local Murphy restaurant.”
While it is true that Close was convicted of obtaining a motor vehicle with intent to defraud, she plea-bargained with the prosecution and a judge ordered withholding adjudication of guilt and sentencing because of “no cause having been shown why this defendant should be adjudicated guilty.”
Close was sentenced to 49 days time served in jail, unsupervised probation concurrent with her time in jail and ordered to pay $618 in various court costs.
Case drags on
Close and Ackiss are political rivals, according to an Ackiss’ filing.
Their adversarial relationship erupted during elections to the Cherokee County Republican Party Executive Committee in February 2023, when Close supported another candidate over Ackiss for executive committee chair. Today, Close is vice president of the local GOP executive committee.
In the lawsuit, which she filed in February, Close alleges that Ackiss used a series of social media posts that ruined her reputation, cost her a job and interfered with her ability to find work.
Armed with documentation, Ackiss’ lawyers have highlighted the Florida conviction in subsequent filings.
“Ms. Ackiss exposed the fact that plaintiff had committed a felony out of concern that plaintiff was therefore unfit to hold a position of trust in local politics,” Huff wrote.
Court filings in the case have gathered a long list of people involved in Republican politics or simply the community, ranging from a county commissioner’s wife, Sheriff Dustin Smith, retired schools superintendent Jeana Conley and Cherokee Scout Publisher David Brown.
However, it is discovery involving three people that is causing the case to drag on past its first anniversary.
Ackiss’ lawyers filed motions to compel responses from Close and witnesses Leo Phillips, a Murphy lawyer who was formerly chair of the county Republican Party; and Michelle Nix, a Carteret County resident who knows Close and Ackiss.
The motion for discovery to Close included 25 interrogatories, of which Close answered 15. Ackiss’ lawyers want Close to answer the remaining questions.
Phillips submitted a motion to quash the subpoena, saying it sought information about personal and private communications, including some potentially covered by attorney-client privilege. He called it a “fishing expedition” with “absolutely no showing of necessity, probably cause or need.”
Nix also questioned the reason for being subpoenaed, adding that the difficulty hiring a lawyer and the long distance between Murphy and Carteret County where she lives – about 500 miles – makes it difficult for her to respond. She requested more time.
Ackiss’ lawyers scheduled a hearing on a number of motions on Feb. 10, 2025, or as soon as possible if later, at the Clay County Courthouse in Hayesville. Other District 43A civil courtrooms in Cherokee, Graham and Macon counties are busy until March.