Vol. 6, No. 5, Pg. 32. CHANGES IN RULE 40: QUEUING UP YOUR CASE.

• Author: By William H. Latham

South Carolina Lawyer

1995.

Vol. 6, No. 5, Pg. 32.

CHANGES IN RULE 40: QUEUING UP YOUR CASE

32CHANGES IN RULE 40: QUEUING UP YOUR CASEBy William H. LathamOn January 1, 1995, a major change took place in the administration of the civil docket in South Carolina state courts. On that date, Amended Rule 40 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure took effect, providing a uniform method for the placing of cases on the Jury Docket. This amendment dramatically changes former practice in all circuits in an attempt to allow better management of the jury trial docket.

One stated reason for amending Rule 40 is to allow lawyers to more accurately predict when their cases will be called for trial. Under former practice, a case could be called for trial 120 days after it was filed or the last party joined. The notes to the 1994 amendments indicate that this period of time was often too short and resulted in some cases being called without adequate notice or opportunity to complete discovery In such cases, former Rule 40(c) (3) often was used to dismiss and refile many of these cases, which the advisory notes indicated was the cause of "confusion in the docket and the status of those cases." Under the new Rule, lawyers will be able to more accurately predict the time frame in which a case will be called for trial.

Chronology of a Case under New Rule 40

Under Rule 40, as amended, there are two separate "holding areas" for filed cases: (1) the General Docket where all newly filed cases are initially placed, and (2) the Jury Roster from which cases are called for trial.

When a case is initially filed, it is placed on the General Docket. If no jury is requested, the case is immediately transferred to the Non-Jury Roster. Rule 40(b). All cases in which a jury trial is requested stay on the General Docket for at least 180 days after the case is filed. After this 180 day period, any party may file and serve on all other parties a Request to Transfer that case from the General Docket to the Jury Trial Roster. Parties served with a Request to Transfer have 10 days to serve either an Agreement to Transfer or

34 an Objection to Request to Transfer. If no responsive pleading is filed, the right to object to transfer is waived and the case is transferred to the Jury Roster. If all parties have agreed to the transfer, the requesting party must notify the clerk in writing, and the clerk will place the case on the Jury Trial Roster. From there it may be called for trial after 30 days. However, if any party files an objection to transfer, the case may not be...