Bill > H3050

This bill amends South Carolina's existing law regarding the civil jurisdiction of magistrate courts by increasing the maximum monetary limit for various types of civil cases from $7,500 to $75,500. Magistrate courts are lower-level courts that handle smaller civil disputes, and this bill expands their authority to hear a wide range of cases, including contract disputes, property damage claims, penalty actions, attachment of property, surety bond claims, personal property damage claims, landlord-tenant matters, and actions to recover personal property. The changes apply to scenarios such as contract recovery, damages claims, judgment confessions, interpleader actions related to real estate contracts, and cases involving unreturned leased or rented property. Specifically, the bill modifies Section 22-3-10 of the South Carolina Code to replace all instances of "seven thousand five hundred dollars" with "seventy-five thousand five hundred dollars," effectively increasing the monetary jurisdiction of magistrate courts tenfold. The bill will take effect upon approval by the Governor, potentially providing more accessible and potentially less expensive legal resolution for civil disputes within this expanded monetary range.

Justice

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=3050&session=126&summary=B