ORDERS:
ORDER OF DISMISSAL
Pursuant to ALC Rule 37, Appellant South Carolina Department of Motor
Vehicles (Department) was required to file an appellate brief in the
above-captioned matter with this Court “within fifteen (15) days after receipt
of the Record on Appeal.” ALC Rule 37(A). The Division of Motor Vehicle Hearings
filed the Record on Appeal in this matter on July 13, 2006, and filed the
transcript of the hearing below on August 15, 2006. However, to date, the
Department has not filed an appellate brief in this case. Because the
Department has failed to timely file an appellate brief, this case is hereby dismissed
pursuant to ALC Rule 38. ALC Rule 38 provides that:
Upon motion of
any party, or on its own motion, an administrative law judge may dismiss an
appeal for failure to comply with any of the rules of procedure for appeals, including
the failure to comply with any of the time limits provided by this section.
ALC Rule 38
(emphasis added).
By virtue of its request for an appeal, the Department had an obligation
to advance its position, and the Department was given ample time
to do so. Nonetheless, the Department failed to file an appellate brief in
support of its appeal. This case must, therefore, be dismissed. “There is a
limit beyond which the court should not allow a litigant to consume the time of
the court . . . .” Georganne Apparel, Inc. v. Todd, 303 S.C. 87, 92,
399 S.E.2d 16, 19 (Ct. App. 1990).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that this case is hereby DISMISSED with prejudice.
AND IT IS SO ORDERED.
______________________________
JOHN D.
GEATHERS
Administrative
Law Judge
October 16, 2006
Columbia, South Carolina |