South Dakota Supreme Court Decisions 2018

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of the Brant Lake Sanitary District on Plaintiffs’ claims alleging a taking or damaging of their property and nuisance,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court granting Plaintiffs’ motion to compel certain discovery and Plaintiffs’ request for attorney fees, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s judgment of conviction and sentence for third-degree rape, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the dismissing The Institute of Range and the American Mustang’s (IRAM) lawsuit seeking to void a seventeen-year-old deed of conservation easement and to quiet title to its…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of contributing to the abuse, neglect, or delinquency of a minor, holding that the evidence was sufficient…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of Protective Life Insurance Company on Plaintiff’s complaint alleging breach of contract and bad faith, holding that there were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court granting Mother's brother and sister-in-law’s petition for guardianship of Father’s child, holding that that, considering all the evidence in the record, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court denying Appellants’ motion to intervene in a partnership dissolution action, holding that Appellants failed to meet the tripartite test necessary for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the circuit court’s grant of Defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law in this action for alienation of affections, holding that the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the three consecutive fifteen-year sentences handed down by the circuit court after Appellant pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault, holding that the circuit court did not err by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the dispositional order terminating Father’s parental rights of his four-year-old son (Child) in this Indian Child Welfare Act case, holding that there was no trial court error in terminating…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s dismissal of an appeal from the cease and desist license revocation order of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, Division of Banking (Division) directing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Defendant’s appeal from a protection order entered in magistrate court, holding that this Court did not have appellate jurisdiction to consider this direct appeal. Defendant did not appeal…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court denying Appellants’ motions for an enlargement of time to serve their complaints and dismissing their actions against Appellee,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the decision of the circuit court ordering Appellant to pay attorney fees incurred by his former spouse, Appellee, holding that the circuit court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the circuit court’s dismissal of this challenge to a decedent’s pre-death conveyance, holding that Plaintiff may have an unjust enrichment claim against one of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s judgment affirming a hearing examiner’s decision that an exemption from taxation for real property be increased to 100 percent but reversed the award of attorney fees,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Sioux Falls on Plaintiff’s complaint for negligence, holding that there was not a genuine issue of material…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of second-degree murder, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of an investigatory…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant, a truck driver, of operating an overweight truck on a bridge, holding that Defendant’s arguments on appeal were…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Appellants’ application for a writ of mandamus to compel the Deuel County Auditor accept the three petitions submitted by Appellants seeking referendum on an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court entering an amended judgment of conviction ordering Defendant’s sentences to run concurrently to his corresponding federal sentences, holding that Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this action for summary judgment, holding that an exculpatory clause in a contract between the parties…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Larry Weisser, holding that Kayla Fluth’s satisfaction of judgment against Schoenfelder Construction, Inc.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case asserting breach of contract and fraud, the Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court granting the motion filed by Portable Lift Equipment Inc. (PLE) for a new trial on the issue of damages,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed the State’s intermediate appeal challenging the circuit court’s reversal of the magistrate court’s order denying Defendant’s motion to suppress, holding that there was no basis for an appeal…

Justia Opinion Summary: After the United States Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Supreme Court affirming the circuit court’s summary judgment in favor of Defendants, the Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s grant of summary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for unauthorized ingestion of a controlled substance and possession of two ounces or less of marijuana but reversed and remanded for a new trial Defendant’s conviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence imposed in connection with Defendant’s conviction for third-degree burglary, holding that the sentencing court had authority to alter its original sentence and that Defendant did…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and in part reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants, a physical therapy company and a hospital, on Plaintiffs’ negligence claims,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting Plaintiff’s petition for a protection order against Defendant for stalking and remanded the case to permit the court to identify which of Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit partitioning one of two parcels of land Tom Blue and Jim Blue inherited as tenants in common, awarding Tom owelty, and denying Tom’s claims for improvements and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction and sentence for possessing a controlled substance (methamphetamine), holding that the circuit court erred by denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granted summary judgment for Debtor in this breach of contract case brought by Creditor to recover unpaid installments under a promissory note. In moving for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action to quiet title to real property owned by Defendants under a claim of adverse possession, the Supreme Court reversed the order of the circuit court finding that Plaintiff was entitled to the disputed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s grant of Progressive Northern Insurance Company’s renewed motion for summary judgment on Nicole Harvieux’s claims for bad faith and barratry. Harvieux filed an action under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court affirming the decision of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation awarding Tammy Lagler, who suffered a workplace injury,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s decision affirming the determination of the South Dakota Department of Labor’s Division of Human Rights (DHR) that there was not probable cause to believe the allegations of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s order denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence on the grounds that the police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to initiate an investigatory traffic stop and that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part a dispositional order in a child abuse and neglect proceeding that awarded Mother custody of the parties’ child, with supervised visitation rights for Father. On appeal, Father argued…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from a circuit court order granting Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, holding that no statutory authority existed to entertain the appeal as a matter of right. Plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was not the circuit court’s subject matter jurisdiction over a trust but, rather, the circuit court’s authority to enforce an order. The beneficiary of the trust filed a motion for an order to show cause for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s judgment reversing the decision of the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, which revoked Defendant’s gaming support license and banned him from entering any gaming…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court entering judgment on the jury’s general verdict in favor of real-estate developers (Developers) and against the City of Rapid City in this suit seeking to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the circuit court affirming the decision of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission issuing an order accepting the certification of TransCanada Keystone Pipeline LP that it…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the circuit court in these divorce proceedings. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the circuit court (1) accepted Wife’s valuation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court did not err in denying Sellers’ motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial in this case brought by Buyers against Sellers of a house alleging violation of statutory disclosure…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment for Defendant, a used-car dealer, on Plaintiffs’ claims alleging that the used vehicle they…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the circuit court’s judgment in favor of Plaintiffs awarding damages and an easement enabling Plaintiffs to install an independent tile line underneath Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing Appellant’s appeal from a letter sent by the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles denying Appellant’s request to review her parole date…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the habeas court denying Petitioner’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus arguing that his trial counsel’s assistance was ineffective in regard to his decision to plead guilty and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Appellants’ requested writ of certiorari to challenge an Attorney General’s ballot explanation of a proposed initiated measure that would limit the price state…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s separate convictions and sentences for aggravated assault and escape. The Court held (1) the circuit court did not err in denying Appellant’s motion to suppress; (2) the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce action, the Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s valuation of a bank account on a date other than the date of divorce, the decision to recapture into the marital estate the value of home…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Appellant’s appeal from a circuit court’s order revoking the clerk of court’s issuance of letters of appointment and the clerk’s statement of informal probate and appointment of personal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the habeas court denying Appellant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated assault. In his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court ordering Eryn Winegeart to sell real estate she owned jointly with her former spouse, Weston Winegeart, holding that the court did not err by ordering Eryn to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the the circuit court’s classification and division of property in this divorce case in all but one respect as regards a clerical issue, which the Court remanded for clarification. Husband…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of second-degree murder. The Court held that the circuit court did not err in (1) failing to dismiss the indictment on the ground that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s partial denial of Plaintiffs’ partial denial of their request for preliminary injunctive relief against Defendant, their former agent, holding that the circuit court did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence found in the vehicle Defendant was driving, holding that, contrary to the circuit court’s finding, Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court compelling Defendant to return real property transferred to him by his late father and the jury verdict requiring Defendant to pay general and punitive damages to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s order affirming the Department of Labor’s grant of summary judgment to Fall River County and against Plaintiff, a former County employee, who alleged that the County…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court ruling that an option agreement was void and ordering Wayne Snaza, as trustee of the Dennis Snaza Family Trust, to distribute the net income and residue of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Petitioners' petition for a writ of mandamus, in which Petitioners sought to force Waubay Township to maintain roads accessing their property. In denying the writ,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for a stay of a circuit court’s final judgment pending appeal and dismissed his appeal from a non-final judgment. In this property dispute, Plaintiff sued Defendant, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for first-degree robbery, holding that sufficient evidence supported the conviction. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erroneously admitted a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s order granting full primary physical custody of Father’s minor child to the child’s maternal grandmother (Grandmother), holding that the circuit court erroneously analyzed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s convictions for first-degree rape and sexual contact with a child under the age of sixteen and remanded this case for a new trial, holding (1) the circuit court did not err in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Appellants’ denial of their request for preliminary injunctive relief against River Bluff Estates, LLC, holding that Appellants did not demonstrate the need for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff’s claim that Defendant engaged in impermissible self-dealing in her capacity as the decedent’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Under the Fourth Amendment, law enforcement may not require an arrestee to urinate into a specimen container as a search incident to a lawful arrest without a valid warrant. Defendant was convicted and sentenced for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed and remanded a jury award of $260,464 after the jury found in favor of Plaintiff on its breach of contract and fraud claims against Defendant. In Stern Oil I, Defendant appealed a judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court order, entered after a hearing, summoning William Joseph Wilkie to appear and testify in an out-of-state criminal proceeding in Clay County, Minnesota but reversed and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and second-degree rape, holding that the circuit court did not commit prejudicial error in any of the issues raised by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court declining to instruct the jury on assumption of the risk in this negligence case. Ronald Jensen purchased plywood sheets from a Menard Inc. store. While an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s denial of Charlotte A. Wintersteen’s motion to amend her petition for court supervision of a trust to include a claim challenging the validity of the most recent amendment…

Justia Opinion Summary: McKie Ford Lincoln, Inc. filed suit against Scott Hanna, its former sales manager, and Gateway Automotive, LLC, the automobile dealership Hanna owned, seeking to enforce a non-competition and disclosure agreement that…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this negligence case was whether the circuit court committed reversible error when it did not instruct the jury on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur. Plaintiff was at a Cabela’s store when she brushed a…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was the Meade County Board of County Commissioners’ order approving incorporation of a proposed municipality of Buffalo Chip City and setting an election for voters to decide whether to assent to incorporation.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this second appeal regarding a contract dispute, the Supreme Court held that the circuit court did not err, on remand, in concluding that the contract created a right of first refusal and that the contract was void as…

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether a guardian’s attorney fees should be paid from a protected person’s estate when the fees were incurred in responding to pleadings to remove the guardian and to move the protected person to an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s order rejecting the plea agreement between Defendant and the State. After Defendant and the State entered into a plea agreement the circuit court accepted Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of first-degree murder and sentencing him to life imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant argued that the circuit court (1) violated his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant in this negligence action on the basis of a release signed by Plaintiff. After an automobile accident,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, rendered after a jury trial, convicting Defendant of aggravated assault (domestic) and simple assault (domestic). On appeal, Defendant challenged the circuit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Employer and certain members of its management staff in this suit brought by Employee after Employee was terminated for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s issuance of an injunction requiring modification or reconstruction of a new home but reversed the circuit court’s conclusion that the City of Sioux Falls owed adjacent…