Security deposit return due date missed; recourse?

[Dennis Orwat]

Hello, lived in SC now out of the area. Landlord did not indicate she was sending back security deposit until 34 days after end of lease. SC statute says: 

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(a) Upon termination of the tenancy, property or money held by the landlord as security must be returned less amounts withheld by the landlord for accrued rent and damages which the landlord has suffered by reason of the tenant's noncompliance with Section 27-40-510. Any deduction from the security/rental deposit must be itemized by the landlord in a written notice to the tenant together with the amount due, if any, within thirty days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later. The tenant shall provide the landlord in writing with a forwarding address or new address to which the written notice and amount due from the landlord may be sent. If the tenant fails to provide the landlord with the forwarding or new address, the tenant is not entitled to damages under this subsection provided the landlord (1) had no notice of the tenant's whereabouts and (2) mailed the written notice and amount due, if any, to the tenant's last known address.

(b) If the landlord fails to return to the tenant any prepaid rent or security/rental deposit with the notice required to be sent by the landlord pursuant to subsection (a), the tenant may recover the property and money in an amount equal to three times the amount wrongfully withheld and reasonable attorney's fees.

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Now this landlord has charged me $230 for stretching a carpet I lived on for 4+ years, I'm not sure it was new when we moved in either. This seems to me so clearly normal wear and tear that I'm quite angry, and is she is unwilling to reconsider. Angry enough I'm thinking about sticking it to her.

Do I have a case to hire an attorney to represent me in small claims and pursue 3x the security deposit, since she missed the deadline? One potential problem is I don't understand the "delivery of possession and demand by the tenant, whichever is later.." part of the statute. Does this mean even though the lease ended 34 days before this thing went into the mail, she didn't have to return it until 30 days after I asked for it? It's not clear what "delivery of possession and demand" means.