- —McConnell v. McConnell, filed August 12, 2026, did not decide whether discovery is available in a Rule 14 contempt action.
- —The Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal because an order denying discovery cannot be appealed until the case is over, while saying in unusually direct terms that the question needs an answer and that the answer currently “appears to depend on the county in which the domestic litigation is brought.”
- —The rule you will face depends on your judge, and the way to protect the record is to ask for discovery correctly and keep going.
Your divorce is final. The settlement agreement says your former spouse would take over the business, pay its debts and stop charging expenses to your credit card. You believe none of that happened, but the proof is in their books, not yours. You file a rule to show cause for contempt and serve interrogatories and requests for production, and the family court tells you there is no discovery in a contempt action. That is the case the South Carolina Court of Appeals had in front of it in August 2026. What it did, and what it pointedly did not do, matters to anyone who needs discovery in a family court contempt action in South Carolina.
What happened in McConnell
A 2020 final divorce order approved a marital settlement agreement under which the husband transferred a 40 percent ownership share, and all the assets and debts, of a home elder-care business to the wife. He later filed a contempt action alleging she had violated the agreement in several financial ways, including charging business income distributions to him for tax purposes, continuing to use a credit card in his name for business expenses, and leaving its balance unpaid. To prove it he served interrogatories and requests for production, and when she did not answer he moved to compel. She moved to quash.
The family court “ruled from the bench that it would not allow discovery because such was categorically unavailable in a contempt action under Rule 14, SCRFC,” denied his request, and ordered him to pay a portion of her attorney’s fees. He appealed, arguing that Rule 14 does not preclude discovery and that Rule 25 provides for discovery in all domestic relations cases.
What the Court of Appeals decided, and what it did not
The court dismissed the appeal. “Although we recognize the merits of Husband’s arguments,” it wrote, “we must dismiss this appeal because discovery orders are not immediately appealable under section 14-3-330 of the South Carolina Code.” An order denying a motion to compel, or granting a motion to quash, is interlocutory: it does not end the case, and under long-standing precedent it cannot be appealed on its own. The husband’s remedy is to finish the contempt hearing and, if he loses, appeal everything, including the discovery ruling, at the end.
The court then said something appellate courts rarely say when dismissing a case.
“As family court litigation in South Carolina continues to become more complex, the need for limited discovery in certain post-merits hearing contexts is apparent. We are concerned that the availability of such discovery appears to depend on the county in which the domestic litigation is brought.”
It closed by urging “the family court bench and bar to address this apparent inconsistency among county jurisdictions and judicial circuits.” A separate concurrence, joined by every member of the panel, went further, suggesting that “it may be that equity allows a court to order discovery if it believes discovery is necessary when deciding a controversy, even if the relevant rules do not expressly allow discovery in a particular context,” and ending: “Though we have not answered the key question here, I hope we have perhaps moved things closer towards getting an answer.”
The two rules at the center of the question
Rule 14, SCRFC, is the rule to show cause. It provides that, apart from direct contempt in the courtroom, “contempt of court proceedings shall be initiated only by a rule to show cause duly issued and served in accordance with the provisions hereof.” It sets out how the rule is issued and served. It says nothing about discovery one way or the other.
Rule 25, SCRFC, is the discovery rule. It encourages “the prompt voluntary exchange of information and documents by parties prior to trial” and provides that “the parties shall be allowed to engage in formal depositions and discovery according to the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure.” The husband’s argument was that this language covers every domestic relations case, contempt actions included. The family court’s view was that a contempt proceeding is a summary matter to which Rule 25 does not apply. The Court of Appeals left both readings standing.
The larger point, which our post on how two rulebooks govern family court procedure discusses, is that the Family Court Rules and the Rules of Civil Procedure overlap, and where they are silent the practice fills the gap, county by county. That is the inconsistency the court was describing.
What this means if you need discovery in a family court contempt action in South Carolina
Ask, and ask properly. Serve the discovery, move to compel when it is ignored, and make the record of why it is necessary. In McConnell the husband “provided supporting exhibits with his discovery requests” showing that the issues involved business profits, distributions credited to a party who did not receive them, and taxation. That record is what let the Court of Appeals say his arguments had merit.
Do not expect an immediate appeal. A denial of discovery will not be reviewed until the contempt action is decided. Plan the hearing on the assumption that you may have to prove the violation without the other side’s records.
Use what you already have. Financial declarations filed under Rule 20 in the original case, the business records exchanged during the divorce, tax returns, bank and card statements in your own name, and subpoenas to third parties are all sources that do not depend on the other party answering interrogatories. Our guide to the financial declaration required by Rule 20 explains what those filings contain.
Ask the judge to exercise equity. The concurrence in McConnell offered the argument that a family court has the power to order discovery it believes necessary to decide a controversy. Making that request in writing, with the reasons, gives the court a basis to grant it and preserves the issue if it does not.
Draft the agreement with enforcement in mind. Where a settlement agreement allocates a business or ongoing financial obligations, a provision requiring periodic accounting or access to records avoids the problem entirely. That is a drafting question for the divorce, not the contempt action.
Where this leaves the law
Nowhere new, on paper, and somewhere new in practice. The rule in your county is whatever your family court judge has been doing, and McConnell did not change it. But three appellate judges have now written that the question needs answering and that the current patchwork is a concern, and that is the kind of statement lawyers cite when they ask a trial judge to allow discovery. The question will come back, either in an appeal after a final contempt order or through a rule change, and the family court bar has been invited to bring it.
If your enforcement problem is a custody or visitation order rather than a financial one, the proof usually lives in your own records, and our guide to how to enforce a visitation order covers that process.
Frequently asked questions
Did McConnell hold that there is no discovery in a contempt action?
No. It held only that the family court’s order denying discovery could not be appealed before the case ended. The merits were expressly left open.
Can I appeal if the family court refuses my discovery requests?
Not immediately. Under S.C. Code § 14-3-330 and the cases applying it, a discovery order is interlocutory. It can be raised on appeal after the final order in the contempt action.
Does Rule 25 apply to a rule to show cause?
That is the unanswered question. Rule 25 says parties “shall be allowed” formal discovery under the civil rules; some family courts treat contempt proceedings as outside it. The answer varies by county today.
What should I do if I need the other side’s records to prove contempt?
Serve the discovery, move to compel with exhibits showing why it is necessary, ask the court in the alternative to order it in equity, and gather every record available from other sources in the meantime.
Is this only a problem for business or financial contempt cases?
It is most acute there, because the proof sits in the other party’s records. Custody and visitation enforcement usually turns on the parties’ own logs and communications.
Talk to a Charleston family law attorney about enforcing your order
Contempt is the family court’s enforcement tool, and how much you can prove decides how well it works. Klok Law handles family law matters, including enforcement of settlement agreements and orders, 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