Magistrates court

2025-2026 Bill 4667: Magistrates court - South Carolina Legislature Online

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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H. 4667
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Luck and Spann-Wilder
Document Path: LC-0303HDB26.docx
Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026
Currently residing in the House Committee on
Judiciary
Summary: Magistrates court
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

Date

Body

Action Description with journal page number

12/16/2025

House

Prefiled

12/16/2025

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary

1/13/2026

House

Introduced and read first time (
House Journal-page 50
)

1/13/2026

House

Referred to Committee on
Judiciary
(
House Journal-page 50
)

View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
12/17/2025

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
18-7-95
SO AS TO ALLOW APPELLATE COURTS TO PROCEED AS IF A MAGISTRATE HAS DIED,
BECOME INSANE, OR IS ABSENT IN CASES WHERE THE MAGISTRATE FAILS TO COMPLY WITH
CERTAIN STATUTES REGARDING MAKING A RETURN TO THE APPELLATE COURT; BY AMENDING
SECTION
22-3-10
, RELATING TO CONCURRENT CIVIL JURISDICTION, SO AS TO INCREASE
THE CIVIL JURISDICTION OF MAGISTRATES COURT; BY AMENDING SECTION
22-3-20
,
RELATING TO CIVIL ACTIONS WHEN MAGISTRATES HAVE NO JURISDICTION, SO AS TO
INCREASE THE EXCEPTION FOR PENALTIES OF A CERTAIN AMOUNT; AND BY AMENDING
SECTION
22-3-340
, RELATING TO ASSESSMENTS ON CIVIL FILINGS IN MAGISTRATES
COURT, SO AS TO INCREASE ASSESSMENTS.

B
e it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

S
ECTION 1.
A
rticle 1, Chapter 7, Title 18 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:

S
ection
18-7-95
. If a magistrate fails to comply with Sections
18-7-60
,
18-7-70
, or
18-7-80
, or orders issued pursuant to these sections, an appellate court may,
in its discretion, declare a magistrate absent and proceed pursuant to Section
18-7-90
.

S
ECTION 2.
S
ection
22-3-10
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
22-3-10
.
M
agistrates have concurrent civil
jurisdiction in the following cases:

(
1) in
actions arising on contracts for the recovery of money only, if the sum claimed
does not exceed
seven

seventy-four

thousand five hundred dollars;

(
2) in
actions for damages for injury to rights pertaining to the person or personal
or real property, if the damages claimed do not exceed

seven
seventy-four
thousand five hundred
dollars;

(
3) in
actions for a penalty, fine, or forfeiture, when the amount claimed or
forfeited does not exceed
seven

seventy-four
thousand five hundred dollars;

(
4) in
actions commenced by attachment of property, as provided by statute, if the
debt or damages claimed do not exceed
seven

seventy-four
thousand five hundred dollars;

(
5) in
actions upon a bond conditioned for the payment of money, not exceeding
seven

seventy-four
thousand
five hundred dollars, though the penalty exceeds that sum, the judgment to be
given for the sum actually due, and when the payments are to be made by
installments an action may be brought for each installment as it becomes due;

(
6) in
any action upon a surety bond taken by them, when the penalty or amount claimed
does not exceed
seven

seventy-four

thousand five hundred dollars;

(
7) in
any action upon a judgment rendered in a court of a magistrate or an inferior
court when it is not prohibited by the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure;

(
8) to
take and enter judgment on the confession of a defendant in the manner
prescribed by law when the amount confessed does not exceed
seven

seventy-four
thousand
five hundred dollars;

(
9) in
any action for damages or for fraud in the sale, purchase, or exchange of
personal property, if the damages claimed do not exceed

seven

seventy-four
thousand five hundred
dollars;

(
10)
in all matters between landlord and tenant and the possession of land as
provided in Chapters 33 through 41 of Title 27;

(
11)
in any action to recover the possession of personal property claimed, the value
of which, as stated in the affidavit of the plaintiff, his agent, or attorney,
does not exceed the sum of
seven
seventy-four
thousand five hundred dollars;

(
12)
in all actions provided for in this section when a filed counterclaim involves
a sum not to exceed
seven

seventy-four

thousand five hundred dollars, except that this limitation does not
apply to counterclaims filed in matters between landlord and tenant and the
possession of land;

(
13)
in interpleader actions arising from real estate contracts for the recovery of
earnest money, only if the sum claimed does not exceed

seven

seventy-four
thousand five hundred
dollars; and

(
14)
in actions for damages arising from a person's failure to return leased or
rented personal property within seventy-two hours after the expiration of the
lease or rental agreement, such damages to be based on the loss of revenue or
replacement value of the property, whichever is less, if the damages claimed do
not exceed
seven

seventy-four
thousand
five hundred dollars; however, the lease or rental agreement must set forth
the manner in which the amount of the loss of revenue or replacement value of
the item leased or rented is calculated.

S
ECTION 3.
S
ection
22-3-20
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
22-3-20
.
N
o magistrate shall have cognizance of a
civil action:

(
1) In
which the State is a party, except an action for a penalty and not exceeding
one
thousand five
hundred dollars; or

(
2)
When the title to real property shall come in question, except as provided in
Article 11 of this chapter.

S
ECTION 4.
S
ection
22-3-340
of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

S
ection
22-3-340
. An assessment equal to
twenty-five
fifty
dollars is imposed on all summons and complaint
filings in magistrates court and an assessment equal to ten dollars is imposed
on all other civil filings in magistrates court, except for restraining orders.
The fees must be collected by the magistrates court and forwarded monthly to
the county treasurer and remitted in turn by the county treasurer to the State
Treasurer for allocation to the judicial department.

S
ECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on January 13, 2026 at 2:38 PM