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THIRD READING RECONSIDERED, AMENDED AND READ THIRD TIME
June 22, 2000
H. 4460
S. Printed 6/22/00--S.
Read the first time May 16, 2000.
TO AMEND TITLE 15, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 47 SO AS TO REQUIRE ARBITRATION FOR CLAIMS OF SEVEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS OR LESS FILED IN CIRCUIT COURT AND TO PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION; TO ADD SECTION 22-3-40, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ARBITRATION OF CIVIL CASES IN MAGISTRATES COURTS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 22-8-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME MAGISTRATES AND MAGISTRATES SALARIES, SO AS TO CHANGE AN INCORRECT CROSS REFERENCE.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 16-13-420 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 16-13-420. (A) A person having any motor vehicle, trailer, appliance, equipment, or tool, clothing, or formal wear in his possession or under his control by virtue of a lease or rental agreement is guilty of larceny if he:
(1) wilfully and fraudulently fails to return the motor vehicle, trailer, appliance, equipment, or tool, clothing, or formal wear within seventy-two hours after the lease or rental agreement has expired;
(2) fraudulently secretes or appropriates the property to any use or purpose not within the due and lawful execution of his lease or rental agreement.
The provisions of this section do not apply to lease-purchase agreements or conditional sales type contracts.
(B) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a:
(1) felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, if the value of the rented or leased item is five thousand dollars or more;
(2) felony and, upon conviction, must be fined in the discretion of the court or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, if the value of the rented or leased item is more than one thousand dollars but less than five thousand dollars;
(3) misdemeanor triable in magistrate's court if the value of the rented or leased item is one thousand dollars or less. Upon conviction, the person must be fined or imprisoned not more than is permitted by law without presentment or indictment by the grand jury."
SECTION 2. Section 22-8-40(B)(1)(b) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act No. 226 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"(b) upon completing the requirements of Sections 22-1-10(C) and 22-1-12 22-1-16, a magistrate shall be paid eighty percent of the base salary for his county's population category as provided in item (2);"
SECTION 3. Section 27-39-230 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 27-39-230. The following property shall be is exempt from distress for rent, to wit:
(1) personal clothing and food within the dwelling,;
(2) bedsteads, and ;
(3) bedding and cooking utensils.; and
(4) property which is owned by a third party for which the magistrate finds ownership was not transferred from the tenant to the third party for the purpose of avoiding distraint."
SECTION 4. Section 27-39-250 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 27-39-250. If any property so distrained is not the property of the tenant, the tenant shall immediately name the owner thereof and inform the officer of the ownership, and the officer shall distrain sufficient other property of the tenant to pay the rent and costs. Even though property of the tenant must be first applied to payment of the rent and costs, all property upon the rented premises is subject to distress as herein provided, except property mentioned in Section 27-39-230. If at any time prior to sale as provided in Section 27-39-320, the landlord is given or receives written notice containing facts substantiating ownership that some of the distrained property is owned by a third party, the third party must receive notice, as provided in Section 27-39-210, and an opportunity to be heard, as provided in Section 27-39-220,. Before the distrained property of the third party is subject to sale pursuant to Section 27-39-320., the magistrate shall find, in a hearing, that the ownership of the property was transferred from the tenant to the third party for the purpose of avoiding distraint. If the magistrate does not make this finding, the property of the third party is exempt from distraint as provided in Section 27-39-230."
SECTION 5. Section 27-37-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 27-37-10. (A) The tenant may be ejected upon application of the landlord or his agent when (a)(1) such the tenant fails or refuses to pay the rent when due or when demanded, (b)(2) the term of tenancy or occupancy has ended, or (c)(3) the terms or conditions of the lease have been violated.
(B) For residential rental agreements, nonpayment of rent within five days of the date due constitutes legal notice to the tenant that the landlord has the right to begin ejectment proceedings under this chapter if a written rental agreement specifies in bold conspicuous type that nonpayment of rent constitutes such notice. This requirement is satisfied if the written rental agreement contains the notice specified in Section 27-40-710(B)."
SECTION 6. Section 27-37-30, as last amended by Act 61 of 1999, is further amended to read:
"Section 27-37-30. (A) The copy of the rule provided for in Section 27-37-20 may be served in the same manner as is provided by law for the service of the summons in actions pending in the court of common pleas or magistrates courts of this State. The methods of service described in subsections (B) and (C) may be used as alternatives to the method of service described in this subsection.
(B) When no person can be found in possession of the premises, and the premises have remained abandoned, as defined in Section 27-40-730 for residential rental agreements and in Section 27-35-150 for non-residential rental agreements, for a period of fifteen days or more immediately before the date of service, the copy of the rule may be served by leaving it affixed to the most conspicuous part of the premises.
(C) When service as provided in subsection (A) has been attempted unsuccessfully three two times in the manner described in item (1), a copy of the rule may be served by affixing both it and documentation of the three two service attempts to the most conspicuous part of the premises and mailing a copy of the rule in the manner described in item (2):
(1) Each of the three two attempts to serve the defendant must be separated by a minimum of seventy-two forty-eight hours and must occur at times of day separated by a minimum of four eight hours. The person attempting to serve the rule must document the date and time of the attempts by affidavit or by certificate in the case of a law enforcement officer. On the first unsuccessful attempt to serve the rule, a copy of the rule must be affixed to the most conspicuous part of the premises. On the second unsuccessful attempt to serve the rule, The the documentation of the three two attempts to serve the rule must be attached to the copy of the rule when it is affixed to the most conspicuous part of the premises.
(2) For mailing by ordinary mail to be considered to complete service under this item, it must be accomplished by placing a copy of the rule and documentation of the prior attempts at service in an envelope in the presence of the clerk of the magistrate's magistrates court. The clerk is responsible for verifying that the envelope is addressed to the defendant at the address shown in the rule as the residence rental premises of the defendant or another address for receipt of mail furnished in writing by the tenant to the landlord, that the envelope contains the necessary documents, and that the clerk has placed the sealed and stamped envelope in the United States mail. The clerk's verification must be made a part of the record in the case, and service by ordinary mail shall is not be considered complete without the clerk's verification. A fee as provided for in Section 8-21-1010(14) shall must be collected by the magistrate or his clerk for the verification and mailing in this item.
(3) Mailing of the rule shall constitute constitutes service when the requirements of items (1) and (2) have been met and ten days have elapsed from the time of mailing. If these requirements have been met, the specified time period for the tenant to show cause why he should not be ejected as provided in Section 27-37-20 shall begin begins to run on the eleventh day after mailing. However, if the tenant contacts the magistrates court prior to the eleventh day, the specified time period for the tenant to show cause as provided in Section 27-37-20 shall begin to run at the time of contact."
SECTION 7. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor; however, the completion of the requirement contained in Section 22-1-16 of the 1976 Code for purposes of Section 22-8-40(B)(1)(b) of the 1976 Code, as amended in Section 2 of this act, applies to magistrates whose initial appointment begins on or after July 1, 2001.
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