- —In Major v. Major, decided May 13, 2026, the South Carolina Court of Appeals held that the magistrate court has subject matter jurisdiction over a restraining order under the Harassment and Stalking Statute “regardless of the marital status between the parties.”
- —Being married does not force you into family court, and it does not take the faster magistrate remedy off the table.
You have separated, the divorce is not filed or not finished, and the messages will not stop. Dozens of texts a day, packages at the door, letters at work. You went to the magistrate’s office to ask for a restraining order and were told that because you are still married, you have to go to family court. For years that answer was common in South Carolina. In May 2026 the Court of Appeals said it is wrong: a person seeking a restraining order against a spouse in South Carolina can go to magistrate court under the harassment and stalking statute, married or not.
What happened in Major v. Major
The wife and husband had separated after two years of marriage and had one young child. After the separation the wife reported receiving unwanted gifts, emails and letters from her husband on a daily basis, and communications that frightened her. She filed a complaint and motion for a restraining order in magistrate court under the Harassment and Stalking Statute. The magistrate dismissed it, and the circuit court agreed, reasoning that because the two were married, the family court had exclusive jurisdiction over her request under the Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. Neither court made any finding about what the husband had actually done.
The Court of Appeals reversed. Reading the two statutes side by side, it found nothing in either that takes a married person out of the magistrate’s court. The Harassment and Stalking Statute, it noted, “provides ‘any person’ may file a complaint and motion for a restraining order with the magistrate court,” and its plain language “does not exclude the possibility that stalking and harassment can take place between ‘household members.’” The Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, for its part, does not limit the magistrate’s jurisdiction. The case went back to the magistrate to be heard on its merits.
Two statutes, two courts, one frightened person
South Carolina has two civil tools for this situation, and until Major the relationship between them was the trap.
The Harassment and Stalking Statute. Under S.C. Code § 16-3-1750, “the magistrates court has jurisdiction over an action seeking a restraining order against a person engaged in harassment in the first or second degree or stalking,” and “a complaint and motion for a restraining order may be filed by any person.” The conduct it covers is defined in S.C. Code § 16-3-1700: harassment is “a pattern of intentional, substantial, and unreasonable intrusion into the private life of a targeted person that serves no legitimate purpose,” and stalking is a pattern of words or conduct intended to cause, and causing, a reasonable fear of harm. Under S.C. Code § 16-3-1770 the order can bar the defendant from “abusing, threatening to abuse, or molesting the plaintiff or members of the plaintiff’s family,” from entering the plaintiff’s home, workplace or school, and from communicating with the plaintiff.
The Protection from Domestic Abuse Act. This is the family court’s order of protection, available to a “household member,” which S.C. Code § 20-4-20 defines to include a spouse, a former spouse, persons who have a child in common, and a man and woman who live or have lived together. It requires “abuse,” meaning physical harm, bodily injury, assault, the threat of physical harm, or a sexual offense. Because it is a family court order, it can also address custody, support, possession of the home and other relief a magistrate cannot give.
The circuit court in Major treated the second statute as displacing the first for married people. The Court of Appeals held that the two coexist. As the court put it, its reading “reconciles the broad definition of ‘household members’ with the varying degrees of relief that may be appropriate in any given case.”
A spouse whose situation is a pattern of harassment can use the magistrate’s remedy; a spouse who needs the family court’s broader powers can use the Act; and the choice belongs to the person seeking protection, not to the clerk’s window.
What this means if you are seeking a restraining order against a spouse in South Carolina
You are not confined to family court. If the conduct fits harassment or stalking, the magistrate court in the county where the other person lives or where the conduct occurred can hear it, and magistrate courts are often faster to reach than a family court docket. Our post on Rule 21 temporary hearing procedures explains why a family court temporary hearing can take weeks to schedule.
The two remedies are not mutually exclusive. A magistrate’s restraining order addresses contact and proximity. It does not decide who has the children this weekend or who stays in the house. Where those questions are urgent, a family court action with a request for temporary or emergency relief may be needed as well, and one does not cancel the other.
The definitions still have to be met. Major decided which court can hear the case; it did not lower the bar. Harassment requires a pattern that serves no legitimate purpose and causes distress a reasonable person would feel. A co-parent’s messages about a pickup time are not harassment. Forty messages a day after being told to stop, appearances at your workplace, and letters that frighten you can be.
The evidence is on your phone. Keep every message, voicemail, delivery slip and email, with dates and times. Screenshots with the sender and timestamp visible are the core of the complaint, which must state “the time, place, and manner of the acts complained of.”
Which court should you choose?
That depends on what you need and how fast you need it. A magistrate’s order under the Harassment and Stalking Statute is the right tool when the problem is contact: messages, visits, following, surveillance. A family court order of protection is the right tool when there has been physical harm or a threat of it and you also need decisions about children, support or the home. Where a divorce or custody case is already pending, the family court can enter restraining provisions in that case too, and our post on how temporary hearings are scheduled covers what to expect there. In many situations the answer is both, in sequence, and the order in which you file matters.
If the concern is a co-parent who is ignoring a custody order rather than harassing you, that is an enforcement question; our guide to how to enforce a visitation order covers it.
Frequently asked questions
I was told the magistrate cannot help because I am married. Is that still true?
No. Major v. Major, decided May 13, 2026, holds that the magistrate court has jurisdiction over a harassment or stalking restraining order regardless of the parties’ marital status.
Does a magistrate’s restraining order decide custody?
No. It addresses contact and proximity. Custody, support and possession of the home are decided in family court.
Can I get both a restraining order and an order of protection?
Major treats the two statutes as coexisting. Whether both are appropriate depends on the facts, and a lawyer can tell you in one conversation.
What do I need to bring?
The messages, with dates and times, and any record of having told the other person to stop. The complaint must be verified and must state the time, place and manner of the conduct.
What if I am in immediate danger?
Call 911. The civil orders described here are for what comes next, and a lawyer can help you file the right one quickly.
Talk to a Charleston family law attorney
Major v. Major removed a barrier that kept married people out of the fastest court available to them. Choosing the right court and drafting a complaint that meets the statute are what get an order granted. Klok Law handles family law matters, including restraining orders and orders of protection, across Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Berkeley and Dorchester counties. Call Klok Law at (843) 701-1695 to discuss your options.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, contact Klok Law at (843) 701-1695.
Suzanne Lafleur Klok, Esq. is a family law attorney in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Klok Law Firm, LLC · (843) 701-1695 · sklok@kloklaw.com