Automatic discovery in family court–finally

Posted Monday, May 1st, 2017 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Family Court Procedure, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific

Effective today (May 1, 2017) the South Carolina Supreme Court has amended Rule 25, SCFCR, to authorize automatic discovery in family court. In 23 years practicing under the prior rule, I only had three cases in which a motion for discovery was contested. In one case the family court authorized discovery. In the other two the family court authorized discovery but limited it to certain issues or certain types of discovery.

This automatic authorization of discovery is one less hurdle for family court litigants to clear. And for the overly litigious, now even in relatively uncomplicated cases they can demand discovery.