THIS OPINION HAS NO PRECEDENTIAL VALUE. IT SHOULD NOT BE CITED OR RELIED ON AS PRECEDENT IN ANY PROCEEDING EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BY RULE 268(d)(2), SCACR.

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Supreme Court Bobby Bright, Petitioner, v. Florence Elizabeth Bright, Respondent.

Appellate Case No. 2025-001609

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS

Appeal from Richland County Ernest J. Jarrett, Family Court Judge

Memorandum Opinion No. 2025-MO-047 Submitted November 26, 2025 – Filed December 18, 2025

REVERSED AND REMANDED

John Brandt Rucker and Allyson Sue Rucker, of The Rucker Law Firm, LLC, of Greenville, for Petitioner.

Wendy Pauling Levine, of Columbia, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM: Petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the court of appeals dismissing his appeal. We grant the petition, dispense with briefing, and remand this matter to the court of appeals.

By letter dated April 24, 2025, the court of appeals sent a letter informing the parties the time for serving the record on appeal and Petitioner's final brief had expired and instructing Petitioner to file the required documents, along with a motion requesting permission to serve and file the record on appeal and his final brief out of time, within ten days of the letter or the appeal would be dismissed.

The following day, Respondent filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that Petitioner had failed to timely serve and file the record on appeal and his final brief.

The motion to dismiss stayed the ten-day time period the court of appeals had granted Petitioner to serve and file the record, his brief, and a motion to serve and file those documents out of time. See Rule 240(b), SCACR (providing a motion to dismiss an appeal shall automatically stay the time limits for perfecting the appeal until the motion is decided). Therefore, the court of appeals' subsequent dismissal of the appeal for failure to timely serve and file the documents was in error. As such, we reverse the order of dismissal and remand this matter to the court of appeals to allow Petitioner ten days to serve and file the record on appeal, his final brief, and a motion to allow the late filing of these documents.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

KITTREDGE, C.J., FEW, JAMES, HILL and VERDIN, JJ., concur.