SC Administrative Law Court Decisions

Pursuant to this tribunal's Order for Prehearing Statements of March 16, 2004, each party to the above-captioned matter was required to file a Prehearing Statement with this tribunal and serve the same on the other parties to this case within twenty days of the date of the Order. However, to date, Petitioners have not submitted Prehearing Statements to this tribunal. Accordingly, pursuant to ALJD Rule 23, Petitioners are deemed to be in default and this matter is hereby dismissed.

ALJD Rule 23 provides that:

The administrative law judge may dismiss a contested case or dispose of a contested case adverse to the defaulting party. A default occurs when a party fails to plead or otherwise prosecute or defend, fails to appear at a hearing without the proper consent of the judge or fails to comply with any interlocutory order of the administrative law judge. Any non-defaulting party may move for an order dismissing the case or terminating it adversely to the defaulting party.

Id. (emphasis added). In the case at hand, by failing to respond to this tribunal’s Order for Prehearing Statements, Petitioners have not only failed to comply with an interlocutory order of this tribunal, but also have failed, more generally, to prosecute this matter. By virtue of Petitioners’ requests for a contested case, they had an obligation to advance their position. Yet, despite having been given ample opportunity to advance that position by providing this tribunal with Prehearing Statements, they have failed to do so. Therefore, because “[t]here 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 HEREBY ORDERED that the above-captioned case is DISMISSED with prejudice.

AND IT IS SO ORDERED.

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JOHN D. GEATHERS

Administrative Law Judge

April 13, 2004

Columbia, South Carolina