The Supreme Court of South Carolina

RE:  Disposition of Civil Magistrate Court Cases

ORDER

The judges of the magistrate courts of South Carolina being a part of the statewide unified judicial system, and pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 4, South Carolina Constitution,

IT IS ORDERED that each magistrate of this State shall try or otherwise dispose of all non-jury civil cases within ninety (90) days of the date on which the complaint or other pleading initiating the action was filed, in the absence of good cause shown to the court.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that each magistrate of this State shall try or otherwise dispose of all civil cases in which a  jury trial has been requested within one-hundred twenty (120) days of the date on which the complaint or other pleading initiating the action was filed, in the absence of good cause shown to the court.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that magistrates shall report, upon request, to the Office of South Carolina Court Administration the reason that any civil cases have not been tried or otherwise disposed within the time limits prescribed in this Order.  The provisions of this Order in and of itself raise no substantive rights or defenses to parties involved in magistrate court civil cases.

This Order revokes and replaces the previous Order of the Chief Justice dated June 26, 1980, addressing the timely disposition of civil magistrate court cases.  The provisions of this Order are effective immediately and remain in effect unless amended or revoked by subsequent Order of the Chief Justice. 

February 14, 2011
Columbia, SC