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TO AMEND SECTION 38-77-710, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF ATTORNEYS AS ARBITRATORS OF CERTAIN PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY CLAIMS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ATTORNEYS APPOINTED UNDER THIS SECTION MAY ONLY DETERMINE AN AWARD OF ACTUAL DAMAGES, PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR BOTH AND TO RESERVE TO THE COURTS THE JURISDICTION TO MAKE ANY OTHER DETERMINATION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 38-77-710 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 38-77-710. The court of common pleas, or any an inferior courts court having concurrent jurisdiction, in and for each county, shall by order of reference appoint an attorney or panel of attorneys to hear and determine, by arbitration, property damage liability claims arising out of from motor vehicle collisions or accidents and to award actual and punitive damages. An attorney or panel of attorneys appointed under this section may only determine an award of actual damages, punitive damages, or both. The court of common pleas or an inferior court having concurrent jurisdiction shall retain exclusive jurisdiction to make any other determination. This An order of reference must be consistent with the provisions of this chapter and may not be inconsistent with the Rules of the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Process and procedure must be as reasonably summary and simple as may be reasonable and may provide for the taking of evidence in the form of reports, statements, or itemized bills, or in any other manner otherwise without the procedural and evidentiary limitations which pertain in limits pertinent to jury trials. The A court may provide for the taking of depositions of a witness within or without the State in this State or another state."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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