Table of Contents
SUMMONS
SERVICE AND FILING OF PLEADINGS
AND OTHER PAPERS
Filing of Discovery.
Filing with the Clerk.
Filing Documents under Seal.
Filing Documents by Electronic
Means.
Service of Documents by
Electronic Means.
Timely Service of
Summons and Complaint. In the
event a pleading asserting a claim is not served on each party against whom a
claim is asserted within one hundred twenty (120) days after the filing of the
pleading, the party asserting a claim shall advise in writing the Court and all
parties previously served at the expiration of said one hundred twenty-day
(120) period of the identity of the party not served and why service has not
been effected.
Interrogatories
under Rule 33 Fed. R. Civ. P. and responses thereto, Requests under Rule 34
Fed. R. Civ. P. and responses thereto, and Requests for Admissions under Rule
36 Fed. R. Civ. P. and responses thereto (collectively discovery material)
shall be served upon other counsel or parties, but shall not be filed with the
Court. Transcripts of depositions taken under Rule 30 or Rule 31 Fed. R. Civ.
P. (collectively deposition) shall not be filed with the Court. The party responsible for serving the
discovery material or taking the deposition shall retain the original and
become the custodian thereof. If relief
is sought with respect to any discovery material or deposition, a copy of the
relevant portion of the discovery material or deposition shall be filed with
the Court contemporaneously with the filing or presentation of the request for
relief. See Local Civil Rules 7.04 and 7.06.
If discovery material or depositions are to be used at trial or are
necessary to resolution of a pretrial motion which might result in a final
order on any issue, the portions to be used shall be filed with the Clerk of
Court at the outset of the trial or at the filing of the motion insofar as
their use can be reasonably anticipated. When original discovery material or an
original deposition is needed for appeal purposes and is not in the record,
upon application and order of the Court the necessary discovery material or
deposition shall be filed with the Clerk of Court.
The Court is open
on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. During normal
business hours (8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.), documents may be filed with the
Intake section of the Clerk of Court's office at the Courthouse in Columbia,
the Hollings Judicial Center in Charleston, the Clement F. Haynsworth Federal
Building in Greenville, and the McMillan Federal Building in Florence. If for any reason it is necessary for
documents to be filed with the Court between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 12:00
midnight on any business day for documents due that day, such emergency filings
can be accomplished if the party making the request contacts the Clerk of Court
or his designee during normal business hours to make arrangements to accept the
after-hour filing. The Clerk of Court or his designee is authorized to accept
the entire document, or a portion thereof, by having the party fax the document
to a designated fax number. The party must also subsequently deliver the
original document to the office of the Clerk of Court by 9:30 a.m. on the first
business day following the request. Documents received under the procedure
shall be date-stamped FILED as of the date and time occurring on the
facsimile copy.
Absent a
requirement to seal in the governing rule, statute, or order, any party seeking
to file documents under seal shall follow the mandatory procedure described
below. Failure to obtain prior approval as required by this Rule shall result
in summary denial of any request or attempt to seal filed documents. Nothing in
this Rule limits the ability of the 4 parties, by agreement, to restrict access
to documents which are not filed with the Court. See Local Civil Rule
26.08.
(A) A party
seeking to file documents under seal shall file and serve a Motion to Seal
accompanied by a memorandum, see Local Civil Rule 7.04, and the attachments set
forth below in (B) and (C). The memorandum shall:
(1) identify,
with specificity, the documents or portions thereof for which sealing is requested;
(2) state the reasons why sealing is
necessary;
(3) explain (for each document or group of
documents) why less drastic alternatives to sealing will
not afford
adequate protection; and
(4)
address the
factors governing sealing of documents reflected in controlling case law. E.g.,
Ashcroft v. Conoco, Inc., 218 F.3d 288 (4th Cir. 2000); and In re Knight
Publishing Co., 743 F.2d 231 (4th Cir. 1984).
(B)
The motion shall be accompanied by
(1)
a non-confidential descriptive index of the documents at
issue and
(2)
counsels certification of compliance with this rule.
(C)
A separately sealed attachment labeled Confidential
Information to be Submitted to Court in Connection with Motion to Seal shall
be submitted with the motion. The sealed attachment shall contain the documents
at issue for the Courts in camera review and shall not be filed. The Courts
docket shall reflect that the motion and memorandum were filed and were
supported by a sealed attachment submitted for in camera review.
(D)
The Clerk shall provide public notice of the Motion to
Seal in the manner directed by the Court. Absent direction to the contrary,
this may be accomplished by docketing the motion in a manner that discloses its
nature as a motion to seal.
(E)
No settlement agreement filed with the Court shall be
sealed pursuant to the terms of this Rule.
Documents may be
filed, signed, and verified by electronic means to the extent and in the manner
authorized by the Courts Electronic Case Filing Policies and Procedures Manual
and the Attorney User Manual. A document filed by electronic means in
compliance with this Local Rule constitutes a written document for the purposes
of applying these Local Rules, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
Documents may be
served by electronic means, including through the Courts transmission
facilities, or as otherwise provided and authorized by the Courts Electronic
Case Filing Policies and Procedures Manual and the Attorney User Manual.
Transmission of the Notice of Electronic Filing constitutes service of the
filed document 5 upon each attorney in the case who is registered as Filing
User in accordance with procedures established by the Court. Any other
attorney, party, or parties shall be served according to these Local Rules, the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
In South Carolina, lobbyists and state officials are always
active in transforming laws concerning civil procedure. As a result, state information offered on
our website may have been amended recently.
For contemporary process serving and civil statutes, visit the official
South Carolina Judicial System Court website: http://www.scd.uscourts.gov/
