Rule 29 - Contested Case HearingsA. Order of Proceedings. The administrative law judge shall conduct the hearing in the following manner:(1) The parties shall be given an opportunity to briefly present opening statements.(2) Parties shall present their evidence in the order determined by the administrative law judge.(3) Each witness shall be sworn or affirmed by the administrative law judge or the court reporter and be subject to examination. In the discretion of the administrative law judge, witnesses may be sequestered during the hearing.(4) Parties have the right to introduce evidence on the points at issue and to cross-examine witnesses present at the hearing as necessary for a full and true disclosure of the facts.(5) All objections to procedure, admission of evidence or any other matter shall be timely made and stated on the record, in accordance with Rule 103, SCRE.(6) When all the parties and witnesses have been heard, the parties shall be given the opportunity to present final arguments.(7) Proposed orders may be requested by the administrative law judge, and if served upon the administrative law judge shall be served at the same time and by the same method on all parties.B. Burden of Proof. In matters involving the assessment of civil penalties, the imposition of sanctions, or the enforcement of administrative orders, the agency shall have the burden of proof.C. Decision. The administrative law judge shall issue the decision in a written order which shall include separate findings of fact and conclusions of law.D. Motion for Reconsideration. Any party may move for reconsideration of a final decision of an administrative law judge in a contested case to alter or amend the final decision, subject to the grounds for relief set forth in Rule 59, SCRCP, as follows:(1) Within ten (10) days after notice of the order concluding the matter before the administrative law judge, a party may move for reconsideration of the decision, provided that a notice of appeal from the decision has not been filed. The opposing party may file a response to the motion within ten (10) days of the filing of the motion.(2) The administrative law judge shall act on the motion for reconsideration within thirty (30) days after it is filed if an opposing party does not file a response or within thirty (30) days after an opposing party files a response. If no action is taken by the administrative law judge within the applicable period, the inaction shall be deemed a denial of the relief sought in the motion.(3) The filing of a motion for reconsideration shall not stay the order of the administrative law judge or excuse or delay compliance with the order of the administrative law judge.(4) The time for appeal for all parties shall be stayed by a timely motion for reconsideration, and shall run from receipt of an order granting or denying such motion. If no order is filed regarding the motion, the time for appeal shall begin to run thirty (30) days from the date the motion is deemed denied pursuant to subsection (D)(2).E. Stay of Final Order. An administrative law judge who issues a final order subject to judicial review may in the order stay its effect. At any time prior to the filing of a petition for judicial review, and upon the motion of any party, with notice to all parties, the administrative law judge may stay the final order upon appropriate terms. The filing of a motion for a stay does not alter the time for filing a petition for judicial review.S.C. R. P. Admin. Law. Ct. 29
2019 Revised Notes
Subsection (A) describes the procedure at the hearing which follows the standard civil trial format. In certain matters, such as enforcement actions, the agency has the burden of proof. The decision is to be written with separate statements of fact and law. Issues raised in the contested case proceedings but not addressed in the written order are no longer deemed denied, but must be raised by the parties in a motion for reconsideration in order to be preserved for appeal. Subsection (D) provides for a motion for reconsideration of the decision of an administrative law judge in a contested case. The motion for reconsideration is subject to the grounds for relief set forth in SCRCP 59. The opposing party has ten days from the date the motion is served to file a response to the motion. The administrative law judge must decide the motion within 30 days or it is deemed denied, but if an opposing party files a response to the motion, the 30-day time frame begins to run from the date the response is filed. The filing of a motion for reconsideration does not stay the effectiveness of the administrative law judge's order but does toll the time for appeal until the motion is resolved or deemed denied pursuant to subsection (D)(2). A motion for reconsideration made after a petition for judicial review has been filed is untimely because jurisdiction then resides in the Court of Appeals. In accordance with applicable case law on issue preservation, the last sentence of subsection (D), which stated a motion for reconsideration is not a prerequisite to filing a notice of appeal, has been deleted. Subsection (E) permits the administrative law judge to stay the effect of any final order that is subject only to judicial review. The authority to stay the order is derived from S.C. Code Ann. § 1-23-380(A)(2) (2005) (as amended) which gives the agency or the reviewing court the power to stay an order. When the administrative law judge issues a final order subject only to judicial review, agency action is completed, and the administrative law judge is the appropriate authority to consider the issue of a stay. Motions for stay do not alter the time for filing a petition for judicial review, which is jurisdictional.