An ongoing defamation suit brought by Raleigh-based developer Brantley Tillman against Belhaven Mayor Adam O’Neal made its way to court once again Tuesday.

Any progress was stalled, however, as O’Neal’s situation regarding legal counsel has yet to be resolved.

O’Neal entered a motion to dismiss the claims on Dec. 21, 2016, but on Jan. 6, 2017, attorney Edwin Hardy issued a motion to withdraw his legal counsel, as O’Neal had secured other counsel, according to court documents.

Documents show that Robert Wendel Hutchins also served as O’Neal’s attorney up until November 2016 before Hardy took over in December 2016.

Tuesday’s hearing was to address the withdrawing of counsel, but for unspecified reasons, Judge Jeffery Foster removed the hearing from the court calendar.

Before the defamation suit can continue, the status of O’Neal’s legal counsel must be established. There is no word on who will now represent O’Neal.

The lawsuit was filed in Beaufort County Superior Court in September 2016, alleging claims of libel per se, libel per quod and abuse of public office, and requesting general and punitive damages.

Tillman included several documents as legal evidence, including letters mailed out with residents’ utility bills and Facebook posts.

Tillman is one of four managers of Pantego Creek LLC, which owns the former hospital property on East Water Street in Belhaven. Since Vidant Pungo Hospital closed in 2014, O’Neal and other officials and residents sought to reopen the facility, often pitting the Save Our Hospital campaign against the four property managers.

In a May 30, 2016, Facebook post, O’Neal wrote: “This morning at 2:35 am I followed an ambulance with my father in it to Washington. As I followed with him having symptoms of a heart attack, I thought about Brantley Tilman [sic], Deb Sparrow, Darren Armstrong and Lynn Ross sleeping comfortable in their beds. These 4 individuals have no conscience for the peril they are putting good people at everyday.”

Legal documents for each claim state that Tillman is entitled to $10,000 or more in damages, and that O’Neal’s statements were meant to hurt Tillman’s reputation and did so.

In the Dec. 21, 2016, motion to dismiss, O’Neal denies Tillman’s allegations and denies defamation of a private citizen because Tillman “has set himself in the public eye on the issue of healthcare in Belhaven and Beaufort County, NC and therefore should be held to a public figure standard” and “has not had his reputation damaged and he himself is responsible for any damage to his reputation.”

There is no word on when another hearing will be scheduled, but court calendars running through March did not have the suit listed.