Law firm stops assisted living closure until residents are relocated

By AI, Created 11:20 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – Hughey Law Firm says it intervened with South Carolina regulators to block The Oaks at Charleston from closing until every resident had a safe new placement. The move came after about 100 elderly residents, many with complex medical needs, faced forced displacement on short notice.

Why it matters: - About 100 elderly residents at The Oaks at Charleston faced a rushed move, including people in their 80s and 90s with complex medical needs. - An unplanned closure can interrupt medical care, increase emotional distress and create health risks for residents with dementia, mobility limits or medication schedules. - South Carolina law requires licensed facilities to manage safe and orderly transitions, but advocates argue enforcement is what protects residents in practice.

What happened: - Hughey Law Firm intervened after The Oaks at Charleston, an assisted living facility owned by an out-of-state for-profit group, announced a closure date of April 10, 2026. - The facility emailed residents’ families that there would be no exceptions to the timeline. - Hughey Law Firm engaged the South Carolina Department of Public Health and raised the facility’s obligations under state licensing rules. - The state prohibited The Oaks at Charleston from closing until every resident had been safely placed in a new home.

The details: - South Carolina regulation 60-84 requires residential care facilities to give at least 30 days’ notice before closure. - Families said transition support from The Oaks fell short of what residents needed. - Assisted living facilities in South Carolina must provide for residents’ safety and well-being as a condition of operating in the state. - That obligation includes ensuring residents have a safe, supported transition before a closure takes effect. - Nathan Hughey said the facility’s owners tried to ignore their duty to make sure every resident had a new home before shutting down. - Hughey also said the ownership group sent threatening emails to families and ignored state requirements. - The law firm said the state action prevented residents from being displaced before placements were secured.

Between the lines: - The case shows how closure notices can become a resident-safety issue, not just a business decision. - The dispute also highlights a gap between written notice rules and meaningful enforcement when vulnerable adults need coordinated relocation. - Hughey Law Firm has positioned elder care accountability as a central part of its practice in South Carolina.

What’s next: - The Oaks at Charleston cannot close until all residents are safely relocated. - The broader issue is likely to remain whether South Carolina regulators can prevent similar disruptions at other facilities. - Hughey Law Firm says it will continue representing families harmed by negligent nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other care providers.

The bottom line: - The immediate result is a regulatory stop to a closure that could have displaced elderly residents without a safe plan in place. - The larger message is that resident protection can depend on fast legal pressure, not just notice requirements.