Terms Used In South Carolina Code 12-56-67

  • Claimant agency: means a state agency, board, committee, commission, public institution of higher learning, political subdivision, or other governmental or quasi-governmental entity of any state or the United States. See South Carolina Code 12-56-20
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Debtor: means a person having a delinquent debt or account with a claimant agency which has not been adjusted, satisfied, or set aside by court order, or discharged in bankruptcy. See South Carolina Code 12-56-20
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
This section does not create a right to jury trial where one does not already exist. Where a debtor otherwise is entitled to have a jury determine the issue of indebtedness, that right is preserved specifically. If a right to a jury trial already exists and the debtor wishes to exercise that right, the debtor is not required to request a contested case hearing before the Administrative Law Court but instead must file a summons and complaint in the Court of Common Pleas and serve the pleadings on the claimant agency within thirty days from the date of the hearing officer’s determination. The summons and complaint must name the claimant agency as a defendant and the allegations of the complaint must contest the debt and any potential setoff.