Palmetto State lawyers will have even more time to submit their legal paperwork under a new post-hurricane order issued by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
The court has extended the filing “holidays” through Wednesday, Oct. 9.
“While much of the state is recovering from flooding and wind damage, and power has been restored to many South Carolina cities and counties, a significant number of lawyers remain without power and internet access,” the order signed by the court’s five justices says. “We find these problems continue to adversely affect the ability of many lawyers and litigants to comply with filing and service deadlines in various courts.”
The latest order, which was published Friday, follows similar orders dated Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 that created filing holidays from Friday, Sept. 27, through Friday, Oct. 4, as South Carolina recovers from Hurricane Helene’s march across the state.
The court declared the holidays for the computing of time under Rule 263 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules; Rule 6 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure; Rule 35 of the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure; and Rule 3 of the South Carolina Rules of Magistrates Court.
The court hedged its bets as to whether it would extend the holidays.
“While it does not currently appear that any further extensions will be necessary, Supreme Court will evaluate conditions to determine whether the filing holidays declared in this order should be further extended,” the latest order says.