How to File a Motion to Compel Discovery in South Carolina

To file a motion to compel discovery in South Carolina, you prepare a written motion under Rule 37 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure identifying the discovery the other side failed to provide, file it with the Clerk of Court in the county where your case is pending along with a $25 filing fee, and serve a complete copy on the opposing party.¹² The motion asks a judge to order the other party to answer interrogatories, produce documents, respond to requests for admission, or appear for a deposition they’ve been dodging.

When the Motion Is Available

You can move to compel when the opposing party misses a discovery deadline, refuses to answer, objects without a valid basis, or provides answers so vague they’re useless. Rule 37 treats an evasive or incomplete answer as no answer at all.²

Before arguing the other side is late, confirm they actually are. Under Rule 34, a party has 30 days after service to respond to requests for production, except a defendant just served with the lawsuit gets 45 days.³ Interrogatories under Rule 33 carry their own response deadline, and the propounding party can move to compel if the other side fails to answer or objects without justification.⁴ If a scheduling order is in place, your motion must be filed within whatever discovery deadlines it sets.

The information you’re chasing has to fall within the scope of discovery under Rule 26: relevant to the subject matter of the case and not privileged. It doesn’t have to be admissible at trial, only reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence.⁵

Try to Work It Out First

Unlike the federal rules, South Carolina’s Rule 37 does not explicitly require you to certify a good-faith conference before filing.² Skip this step anyway at your peril. Most judges want to see you tried to resolve it, and one who thinks you rushed to court may deny attorney’s fees even after granting the motion.

Send a written demand by letter or email giving a firm deadline to comply. Call if you don’t hear back. Save the correspondence, log the calls, and keep any voicemails. That paper trail belongs in your motion as exhibits.

What Goes in the Packet

A motion to compel is filed as a packet. You’ll typically prepare four documents:

The motion itself, with the case caption, the specific discovery requests at issue, an explanation of why the information is relevant, a description of what the other side did or didn’t do, and a section documenting your attempts to resolve the dispute.
Exhibits, including copies of the original discovery requests, any responses you received, and your correspondence trying to resolve things.
A proposed order for the judge to sign, specifying what the court is being asked to require and by when. Include a request for your reasonable expenses and attorney’s fees under Rule 37(a)(4) if you want them.²
A certificate of service showing who was served, how, and when.

Caption the motion “Priority Matter” at the top. Rule 40 requires that designation for discovery motions so the clerk gives them priority scheduling.⁶

Filing, Fee, and Service

File the packet with the Clerk of Court in the county where your case is pending. The filing fee is $25.¹ You can file in person, by mail, or electronically. South Carolina’s e-filing system lets attorneys submit filings digitally to the Court of Common Pleas in counties where e-filing is available.⁷ Filing on paper? Bring the original plus copies for your records and for service.

Serve a complete copy of the packet on the opposing party or their attorney by mail, hand delivery, or another method the rules allow. If you mail it, certified mail with a return receipt or priority mail with tracking gives you proof of delivery. Make sure the certificate of service in your filing matches the method and date you actually used.

The Hearing and Possible Outcomes

Because discovery motions receive scheduling priority under Rule 40, the hearing should come faster than most motions.⁶ Both sides argue. The other party may file a written opposition first.

The judge has three ways to rule. A full grant orders the opposing party to respond by a set deadline. A partial grant compels answers to some requests while sustaining objections to others. A denial means the court accepted the objections or the reasons for withholding.

Fees Are on the Line for Both Sides

Rule 37(a)(4) creates a near-automatic fee-shifting mechanism, and it cuts both ways.

If your motion is granted, the court will generally order the non-compliant party or their attorney to pay your reasonable expenses in bringing the motion, including attorney’s fees. The court can avoid that award only if the opposition was substantially justified or if an award would be unjust.²

If your motion is denied, the same rule runs against you. You or your attorney can be ordered to pay the other side’s reasonable expenses in opposing the motion, including their attorney’s fees, unless your motion was substantially justified.² If the motion is granted in part and denied in part, the judge can divide the expenses however seems fair. Don’t file a weak motion, and don’t stonewall a legitimate one.

If the Order Is Ignored

Winning the motion is half the fight. If the other side defies the court’s order, Rule 37(b) escalates the consequences. The court can impose any combination of sanctions:²

Declaring disputed facts established in your favor.
Barring the disobedient party from supporting or opposing certain claims or introducing specific evidence.
Striking all or part of the party’s pleadings.
Staying the case until they comply.
Dismissing the party’s claims or entering default judgment against them in extreme cases.
Treating the failure as contempt of court.

On top of any sanction, the court must order the disobedient party or their attorney to pay the reasonable expenses caused by the failure, including attorney’s fees, unless the failure was substantially justified.² Judges rarely go straight to dismissal or default on a first violation, but repeated defiance makes those outcomes more likely.

Privilege Claims and Protective Orders

Sometimes the other party doesn’t ignore your requests but instead claims privilege or asks the court to shield the material. Rule 26 lets a party withhold privileged information such as attorney-client communications and work product, but the party asserting the privilege has to describe what’s being withheld in enough detail for you to evaluate the claim.⁵ A blanket assertion of “privileged” without specifics is exactly the kind of evasive response a motion to compel addresses.

The opposing party can also seek a protective order under Rule 26(c) to limit or block discovery that would cause annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden. The court has broad discretion to restrict who sees the documents, keep information sealed, or block certain lines of inquiry. If you expect a privilege or protective-order argument, address it in your motion by explaining why the information isn’t privileged or why the burden is reasonable given how important the information is to your case.

1
South Carolina Judicial Branch. Motion Fee List
2
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 37 – Failure to Make or Cooperate in Discovery: Sanctions
3
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 34 – Production of Documents and Things and Entry Upon Land for Inspection and Other Purposes
4
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 33 – Interrogatories to Parties
5
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 – General Provisions Governing Discovery
6
South Carolina Judicial Branch. South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 40 – Assignment of Cases for Trial; Continuances
7
South Carolina Judicial Branch. E-Filing for Attorneys