Justia South Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Jeremy Lloyd was the general manager at a CiCi's Pizza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which was owned by Dakota Land Pizza, and was temporarily managing two CiCi's Pizzas in Omaha, Nebraska, which were owned by Byrne Brands. While traveling between Omaha and Sioux Falls on a trip that was not assigned as part of Lloyd's employment duties, Lloyd was involved in a rollover accident. Lloyd filed a workers' compensation claim against defendants Dakota Land and Byrne Brands. The Department of Labor granted defendants' motions for summary judgment, determining that no genuine issue of material fact demonstrated that Lloyd's injuries arose out of or in the course of his employment. The circuit court affirmed. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Lloyd's claim did not satisfy the "arising out of" requirement for a workers' compensation claim because it failed to demonstrate that a causal connection existed between the injury and the employment. View "Lloyd v. Byrne Brands" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs Terry and Susan Brown purchased land adjacent to Defendant James Hanson. The neighbors signed a well-and-road easement agreement, which was recorded with the County Register of Deeds. Believing that the Browns had violated the terms of the agreement, Mr. Hanson filed a letter "rescinding" the agreement with the Register of Deeds. The Browns sued Mr. Hanson, and the trial court ruled that a rescission was not the appropriate remedy for a breach of the easement. Mr. Hanson appealed that decision, and the appellate and Supreme Courts affirmed it. The case was remanded back to the trial court for other issues, one of which was that the Browns alleged Mr. Hanson slandered their title by filing his "rescission" letter with the Register of Deeds. Furthermore, that letter created a cloud on the Browns' title, which the Browns claimed interfered with their contract to sell the property to a third party. The trial court entered a judgment in the Browns' favor. Mr. Hanson again appealed. The Supreme Court found that the trial court did not err in finding Mr. Hanson slandered the Browns' title and tortiously interfered with their sales contract. The Court remanded the case for the redetermination of attorney's fees.

Plaintiff Gregory Carmon filed suit against Defendant Brian Rose, alleging conspiracy to defraud. Plaintiffâs suit claimed that Defendant and several others defrauded him in an oil and gas investment scheme. The summons and complaint were served by substitute service to Defendantâs wife who lived in Kentucky. When no responsive pleadings were filed, Plaintiff moved for a default judgment, which was granted. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to set aside the judgment, claiming the substitute service was invalid because he had not lived in the Kentucky home since separating from his wife in 2008. The trial court denied Defendantâs motion, and Defendant appealed. The evidence presented to the trial court showed that the Defendant continued to use the Kentucky address to conduct business after separating from his wife. As late as 2010, a vehicle registered to Defendant was photographed outside the Kentucky home. The Supreme Court concluded that the weight of the evidence supported the trial courtâs conclusion that substitute service was valid, and affirmed the lower courtâs decision.