(a) Motion for Directed Verdict: When Made: Effect. When upon a trial the case presents only questions of law the judge may direct a verdict. A party who moves for a directed verdict at the close of the evidence offered by an opponent may offer evidence in the event that the motion is not granted, without having reserved the right so to do and to the same extent as if the motion had not been made. A motion for a directed verdict which is not granted is not a waiver of trial by jury even though all parties to the action have moved for directed verdicts. A motion for a directed verdict shall state the specific grounds therefor. The order of the court granting a motion for a directed verdict is effective without any assent of the jury.
Rule 50.Motion for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict
Group VI: Trials · Last amended April 30, 2026 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 50 lets the trial judge direct a verdict when a case presents only legal questions, and lets a party who moved for a directed verdict renew that request after trial through a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), which must be served promptly and no later than 20 days after the jury is discharged.
Full Text of Rule 50
(b) Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict. Whenever a motion for a directed verdict made at the close of all the evidence is denied or for any reason is not granted, the court is deemed to have submitted the action to the jury subject to a later determination of the legal questions raised by the motion. A party who has moved for a directed verdict may move to have the verdict and any judgment entered thereon set aside and to have judgment entered in accordance with his motion for a directed verdict; or if a verdict was not returned, such party may move for judgment in accordance with his motion for a directed verdict. A motion for a new trial may be joined with this motion, or a new trial may be prayed for in the alternative. If a verdict was returned the court may allow the judgment to stand or may reopen the judgment and either order a new trial or direct the entry of judgment as if the requested verdict had been directed. If no verdict was returned the court may direct the entry of judgment as if the requested verdict had been directed or may order a new trial.
(c) Same: Conditional Rulings on Grant of Motion .
(1) If the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, provided for in subdivision (b) of this rule, is granted, the court shall also rule on motion for a new trial, if any, by determining whether it should be granted if the judgment is thereafter vacated or reversed, and shall specify the grounds for granting or denying the motion for the new trial. If the motion for a new trial is thus conditionally granted, the order thereon does not affect the finality of the judgment. In case the motion for a new trial has been conditionally granted and the judgment is reversed on appeal, the new trial shall proceed unless the appellate court has otherwise ordered. In case the motion for a new trial has been conditionally denied, the respondent on appeal may assert error in that denial; and if the judgment is reversed on appeal, subsequent proceedings shall be in accordance with the order of the appellate court.
(2) The party whose verdict has been set aside on motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict may promptly after notice of the judgment serve a motion for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59.
(d) Same: Denial of Motion. If the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is denied, the party who prevailed on that motion may, on appeal, assert grounds entitling him to a new trial in the event the appellate court concludes that the trial court erred in denying the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. If the appellate court reverses the judgment, nothing in this rule precludes it from determining that a party is entitled to a new trial, or from directing the trial court to determine whether a new trial shall be granted.
(e) Time for Motion; Appeal; End of Term. The motion for judgment n.o.v. shall be made promptly after the jury is discharged, or in the discretion of the court not later than 20 days thereafter. The time for appeal for all parties shall be stayed by a timely motion for judgment n.o.v. and shall run from the receipt of written notice of entry of the order granting or denying such motion. The time within which to make the motion shall not be affected by the ending of a term of court or departure of the judge from the circuit, and the trial judge shall retain jurisdiction of the action for the purpose of hearing and disposing of such motion if not heard and disposed during the term. Except by consent of the parties, argument on the motion shall be heard in the circuit where the trial was held. The motion may in the discretion of the court be determined on briefs filed by the parties without oral argument.
(f) Judge to be Provided with Copy. A party filing a written motion under this rule shall provide a copy of the motion to the judge within ten (10) days after the filing of the motion.
grant an additional ten days to make them. The amendment to Rule 50(e) provides that the time for appeal commences upon the receipt of written notice of entry of the order disposing of post-trial motions, rather than the date when the order is signed by the court. Similar changes are made in Rules 52 and 59.
the motion has been filed.
and file a written motion for judgment n.o.v from 10 days to 20 days after the jury is discharged.
Notes
Note: This Rule 50 conforms to the Federal Rule, and to present State practice, with four stated changes. 1. The language of Code § 15-33-10 is added as the first sentence to Rule 50(a). 2. The motion for directed verdict may be made at the close of plaintiff's evidence, as well as at the close of all the evidence. This is an alternative to the present motion for involuntary dismissal (non-suit) which is also available. 3. The motion for judgment n.o.v. and for a new trial may be made in the alternative, which is also familiar to State practice. 4. The only substantive change in State procedure is that the parties may be allowed up to ten (10) days to file the motions, and the end of a term of court does not deprive the trial judge of jurisdiction to hear and determine them. Rule 50(e) is added for this purpose. This does not preclude the motions being made in open court, which will continue to be the practice in most cases, but the grounds for the motion and the ruling must be stated in writing or entered on the record to assist the appellate court in its decision in event of appeal.
Note to 1986 Amendment: Post-trial motions are made promptly at the end of the trial, or at that time the court, upon motion, may
Note to 1998 Amendment: This amendment adds Rule 50(f). It is intended to help insure that the judge is promptly notified that
Note to 2026 Amendment: The amendment to paragraph (e) increases the maximum time the court may grant a party to serve
Amendment History
Last amended by Order dated April 30, 2026.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 50 is South Carolina's directed-verdict and JNOV rule — the mechanism for taking a case away from the jury, either during trial or after it has already returned a verdict. Subsection (a) covers the front end: when a case presents only questions of law, the judge can direct a verdict rather than send it to the jury at all. A motion for a directed verdict has to state its specific grounds, and if the judge doesn't grant it, the moving party can still put on evidence as though the motion had never been made — moving for a directed verdict doesn't waive anything and doesn't give up the right to a jury trial, even when every party in the case has made the same motion.
Subsection (b) is the JNOV mechanism itself. When a directed-verdict motion made at the close of all the evidence is denied, or is never ruled on at all, the court is treated as having sent the case to the jury while holding the legal question raised by that motion in reserve. After the verdict, the same party can move to set aside the verdict and judgment and have judgment entered in line with the original directed-verdict motion — this is the motion South Carolina courts and practitioners refer to as JNOV, judgment notwithstanding the verdict, the state's version of what federal practice now calls judgment as a matter of law. A motion for a new trial can ride along with the JNOV motion, or be requested as a fallback if the JNOV motion fails. Subsection (c) then requires the trial court, if it grants JNOV, to also rule conditionally on the new-trial motion — deciding whether a new trial should happen if the JNOV judgment gets reversed on appeal — so the appellate court isn't left guessing. Subsection (d) protects the party who won on the JNOV denial: that party can still argue for a new trial on appeal if the appellate court decides the trial judge was wrong to deny JNOV.
Timing is where this rule has teeth. Subsection (e) requires the JNOV motion to be made promptly after the jury is discharged, and sets an outer limit — the trial court can extend that window, but not later than 20 days after discharge. That 20-day ceiling reflects a 2026 amendment doubling the previous 10-day limit; the amendment also carried the same 10-to-20-day change into Rules 52 and 53. A timely JNOV motion tolls the deadline to appeal for every party, and the appeal clock doesn't start until the parties receive written notice that the order on the motion has been entered. Neither the end of a court term nor the trial judge's move to another circuit cuts off the judge's power to decide a pending JNOV motion, and unless the parties agree otherwise, argument happens in the circuit where the trial was held — though the court can decide the motion on briefs alone. Subsection (f) adds a housekeeping requirement: whoever files a written Rule 50 motion has to send the judge a copy within ten days of filing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a directed verdict motion and a JNOV motion in South Carolina?
A directed verdict motion under Rule 50(a) is made during trial, before the case reaches the jury, and asks the judge to rule as a matter of law. A JNOV motion under Rule 50(b) is made after the jury has already returned a verdict, asking the court to set that verdict aside and enter judgment consistent with the earlier directed-verdict motion.
How long does a party have to file a JNOV motion in South Carolina after the jury is discharged?
The motion has to be made promptly after discharge, and the court's discretion to extend that deadline tops out at 20 days after the jury is discharged. That ceiling was raised from 10 days to 20 days by a 2026 amendment to Rule 50(e).
Does moving for a directed verdict give up a party's right to a jury trial?
No. Rule 50(a) states directly that a denied directed-verdict motion is not a waiver of trial by jury, even where every party in the case has moved for a directed verdict.
Can a party ask for a new trial and JNOV at the same time?
Yes. Rule 50(b) allows a new-trial motion to be joined with the JNOV motion, or requested in the alternative if the JNOV motion is denied.
What happens on appeal if a trial court grants JNOV?
Under Rule 50(c), the trial court must also rule conditionally on any pending new-trial motion, stating whether it would grant a new trial if the JNOV judgment is later vacated or reversed. If the JNOV judgment is reversed on appeal, the new trial proceeds unless the appellate court orders otherwise.
Is JNOV the same thing as JMOL under the federal rules?
They serve the same function — taking a verdict away based on the legal insufficiency of the evidence — but South Carolina's rule keeps the traditional "directed verdict" and "judgment notwithstanding the verdict" terminology rather than the federal rule's "judgment as a matter of law" language.
Does a court term ending affect a judge's power to rule on a JNOV motion?
No. Rule 50(e) states that neither the end of a term of court nor the trial judge's departure from the circuit affects the time to make the motion, and the trial judge keeps jurisdiction to hear and decide it even after the term ends.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: JNOV South Carolinajudgment notwithstanding the verdict South Carolinadirected verdict motion South CarolinaJMOL South Carolina civil casemotion for directed verdict deadlinepost-trial motion 20 days jury discharged