South Dakota Supreme Court

The Supreme Court affirmed the termination of Mother’s parental rights, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by denying continuances sought while Mother’s compassionate-release motion was pending.

The Court affirmed summary judgment for the State because the plaintiffs did not establish that the State’s mining, reclamation, or retention of mineral rights constituted a taking or damaging of private property for public use.

The court affirmed summary judgment for Viva on the Estate’s challenges to the Trust and the validity of the life-insurance Policy. It held that the Trust-related counterclaims were barred by the statute of repose and that the Policy complied with the insurable-interest statutes because, when issued, its benefits were…

The court affirmed dismissal of the action with prejudice as a sanction for repeated subpoena violations, including obtaining a nonparty's medical records while a motion to quash was pending.

The Court affirmed Carter’s first-degree rape conviction, holding that the circuit court properly admitted closely related child-pornography evidence, expert testimony and evidence concerning gonorrhea testing, and the child’s hearsay disclosures.

The Supreme Court of South Dakota affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded a legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty action against attorneys who jointly represented three co-defendants in a bee-site dispute.

The court held that officers lawfully entered the defendant's home without a warrant under the community-caretaker exception because objective circumstances, including toxic ammonia fumes, an unsecured residence, and uncertainty about whether anyone remained inside, reasonably justified a limited welfare check.

The court reversed summary judgment for Acuity because genuine factual disputes existed over whether Acuity reasonably investigated and denied DM & E’s uninsured-motorist claim and whether it acted knowingly or recklessly.

The Supreme Court of South Dakota held that genuine issues of material fact require trial on whether attorney Alan Glover converted corporate property, whether he represented the corporation he helped create (which would determine its malpractice and fiduciary-duty claims), and whether he knowingly and substantially…

The court held that the trial court improperly barred Lamont from presenting evidence concerning the decedent's blood alcohol level to challenge proximate cause, requiring reversal on that issue and a new trial.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed William Guthrie's first-degree murder conviction for the bathtub drowning of his wife Sharon. The lead opinion held the suicidologist Dr. Berman's profile testimony was admissible under Daubert but that his ultimate opinion that Sharon did not die by suicide was inadmissible…

The court held that the parties formed an enforceable agreement under which the Gulbransens could retain five acres near their home and were required to convey the remaining southern portion of the parcel to Jacobson.

The South Dakota Supreme Court held that a deputy's continued detention of a motorist after issuing a warning citation and telling her she was free to leave violated the Fourth Amendment, because every suspicious observation the officer made predated the free-to-leave statement and no new suspicious information arose…

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed jury verdicts against a former physician in three consolidated medical-malpractice actions. It held that sexual misconduct occurring during gynecological examinations may constitute malpractice for tort-liability purposes, and found no reversible error in the consolidation of…

The court affirmed the judgment for the Carpenters, holding that the evidence did not establish Keith Carpenter's contributory negligence as a matter of law and that the disputed negligence issues were properly submitted to the jury.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the denial of summary judgment in a livestock-trespass action. It held that the applicable limitations statute was ambiguous and that, under the longer available limitations period, Zoss timely filed suit within one year after the trespass.

The court affirmed the convictions challenged under the 180-day rule, constitutional speedy-trial guarantee, continuance standard, and sufficiency of the evidence. It held that the statutory trial period began upon Karlen's first appearance on the reindictment, that the nine-month delay was not presumptively…

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the Department of Labor’s determination that the 1995 amendment to SDCL 62‑4‑34 eliminated the requirement that a pre‑existing condition be disabling before an employer may be reimbursed from the Subsequent Injury Fund, and held that the insurers had shown their employees…

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed Pellegrino's second-degree murder conviction for fatally shooting his unarmed friend during an argument in his trailer home. The court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing a burglary-based justifiable-homicide instruction, because the 'any felony'…

The court held that Thompson's complaint stated legally sufficient negligence claims and that dismissal under Rule 12(b)(5) was improper. The complaint alleged common-law negligence, violations of state aircraft-safety statutes, and violations of federal balloon-piloting regulations, with factual questions concerning…

The court held that a statutory “restrictive endorsement” reducing automobile-insurance coverage must appear on a separate page added or attached to the policy, rather than merely within the policy’s body.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for realtor Kahler, holding that attorney Van Norman’s alleged advice did not cause the plaintiff’s obligation to pay the commission and that the listing agreement was never terminated by mutual assent.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court, holding that the insurance agent, Schwebach, owed no duty of care to the City of Colton because it merely obeyed the City’s request for identical coverage and had no obligation to inquire further about exclusions.

The court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial because the jury was improperly instructed that an electric distributor owed the highest degree of care, and because the trial court improperly treated a pre-litigation investigator as a protected nontestifying expert and excluded discovery and testimony…

The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed the trial court's summary judgment in favor of the insurer and remanded for trial, holding that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding the insurer's alleged bad‑faith denial of workers’ compensation benefits.

The court affirmed denial of summary judgment on the salesperson’s deceit and deceptive-trade-practices claims. It held that the employer’s admitted concealment and mislabeling practices created triable issues on deceit, and that the statute’s broad reference to any adversely affected person allowed an employee to sue…

The court held that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of three prior sexual assaults because the acts were insufficiently similar to establish identity or a common method, and their substantial prejudicial effect outweighed their limited probative value.

The visible portion of the opinion rejects Rhines's challenges to the admission of his confessions, capital-jury selection, South Dakota's capital-sentencing framework, evidentiary rulings, expert-assistance request, and jury instructions.

The court affirmed a directed verdict for Basin Electric because the utility owed the Poelstras no duty to mark or warn about its overhead power lines. Duty was a legal question reviewed de novo, and the court held that the lines complied with applicable requirements, lacked a history of similar accidents, and did not…

The court affirmed a condemnation judgment awarding the landowner $945,816. It held that the landowner’s valuation opinion was admissible even though some underlying factors were independently inadmissible, because those matters affected weight rather than admissibility and no prejudicial error was shown.

The court held that Karl's admission of legal liability admitted its driver's negligence but left proximate cause and damages for the jury, which could reject the plaintiffs' causation and injury claims despite their expert testimony.

The court held that South Dakota statutes granting state employees immunity for negligence in performing ministerial functions violated the state Constitution's open-courts guarantee.

The court upheld the determination that State Farm's workers' compensation set-off provision was void and affirmed the bad-faith, punitive-damages, and prejudgment-interest rulings.

The court affirmed summary judgment declaring that St. Paul had no duty to defend or indemnify Schilling in the underlying negligence action. It held that the automobile policy's on-the-job exclusion unambiguously barred coverage because Godfrey was an employee of the named insured, even though Schilling was an…

The court held that Jessica's death resulting from negligent carbon-monoxide exposure qualified as an accident under the State Farm policy, but affirmed the denial of uninsured-motorist coverage.

The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed the trial court's denial of Continental Lumber's summary judgment motion in an employee's civil action premised on the intentional tort exception to workers' compensation exclusivity.

The court affirmed the circuit court’s reversal of the Department of Labor’s award holding UPS and its insurer liable for Day’s bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Day waived any challenge to Morrell’s nonliability by failing to seek review, and the record lacked substantial medical evidence connecting her carpal tunnel…

The court affirmed dismissal of the husband's petition to modify child support because extended visitation and alimony payments were contemplated when the parties entered their stipulation and therefore did not establish a post-decree change in circumstances.

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed that the employee proved his injury arose out of his joint employment, reversed the lower courts on several statutory interpretations, and remanded for further determination on expert testimony and credit for sick‑leave benefits.

The court upheld the order granting Dartt a new trial because the jury was not instructed that the defendants bore the burden of proving a legal excuse for violating applicable safety statutes.