Justia South Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of South Dakota, Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores and One Shot, LLC, filed a petition against the City of Wall, South Dakota, City Council, and Planning and Zoning Commission for the City. Love’s, a corporation that operates 24-hour truck stops, entered into an agreement to purchase a 13-acre parcel of land from One Shot, contingent on obtaining the necessary zoning and permitting approvals from the city. After the City Council denied Love's rezoning and building permit applications, Love’s filed a petition for writ of mandamus, writ of certiorari, and request for declaratory relief with the circuit court. The circuit court granted Love's petition in part, declaring that the City’s Zoning Ordinance did not apply to the property and required the City to reconsider Love's application for a building permit. The City Council reconsidered and again denied Love's building permit application. Love’s then filed a motion for order to show cause requesting the circuit court to find the City in contempt of the court’s order and sought issuance of a building permit. The circuit court found the City in contempt and ordered the City to issue Love's a building permit. The City appealed.The South Dakota Supreme Court reversed the circuit court's decision. The Supreme Court found that the circuit court order was clearly erroneous in finding that the City willfully and contumaciously violated the court’s order to reconsider and vote on Love's requested building permit. The Supreme Court also noted that the circuit court’s remedy for its finding of contempt was inconsistent with the purpose of civil contempt and exceeded its authority by imposing a punitive, rather than coercive civil contempt remedy. The court's order to issue a building permit was punitive and denied the City the opportunity to purge itself of contempt and come into compliance with the original court order. Therefore, the Supreme Court reversed the circuit court’s finding of contempt and the order issuing a building permit to Love's. View "Love’s Travel Stops V. City Of Wall" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of the South Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) in the underlying action alleging that a newly-constructed median in the highway abutting property owned by Legacy Land Company effected a taking entitling it to compensation, holding that there was no error.The DOT constructed the median at issue as part of a highway improvement project. While the median did not eliminate access to the property owned by Legacy, it did change the access because vehicles could no longer make a left turn directly into the Legacy property and those leaving the property could only turn right onto the highway. The district court granted summary judgment for the DOT. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, although the median's construction affected the ease with which vehicles traveling east could access Legacy's property, the record did not support Legacy's claim that the median substantially impaired its right of access. View "S.D. Dep’t Of Transportation v. Legacy Land Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment for Lakota Lakes and denying Emily Bialota's cross-motion for summary judgment in this quiet title action, holding that Bialota accomplished valid service on the Minnesota Secretary of State.Bialota brought an action to quiet title in Pennington County, alleging that she had fee simple ownership in real property previously owned by Lakota Lakes but later sold at a tax sale. In its summary judgment motion, Lakota Lakes claimed that it had not been validly served with the notice of intent to take tax deed, rendering the tax deed void. In her cross-motion for summary judgment, Bialota argued that service upon Lakota Lakes was proper and that Pennington County had correctly issued a tax deed based upon her affidavit of completed service. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) South Dakota law controlled this Court's determination whether Bialota personally served the Secretary as Lakota Lakes' registered agent; (2) Bialota accomplished valid service on the Secretary; and (3) Bialota was entitled to the tax deed to the property. View "Bialota v. Lakota Lakes, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the determination of the circuit court that the Day County Board of Adjustment could reconsider and modify a previously-granted variance, holding that the Board of Adjustment no longer had the authority to reconsider the variance when it did so.Appellants were informed that their property violated the Day County Planning and Zoning Ordinance because they altered the grading and added rocks. Appellant subsequently sought a variance from the ordinance allowing the existing grading and rocks to remain. The Board of Adjustment unanimously approved the application. The Board subsequently reconsidered the variance and modified it. Appellants later applied for a permit to build a house on their property. The Board of Adjustment denied the application because Appellants had not complied with the modified variance. The circuit court denied Appellants' request for relief and dismissed their complaint. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that because the Board of Adjustment did not reconsider the variance before the appeal time expired, Appellants were entitled to a declaration of their rights under the variance the Board granted. View "Gonsor v. Day County Planning Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court denying Appellant's requests for writs of mandamus and certiorari to reverse the Clay County Board of Adjustment's decision affirming the order of the Clay County Planning Commission denying Appellant's proposed conditional use permit, holding that the circuit court erred in dismissing the writ of certiorari as untimely.In denying Appellant's requests, the circuit court determined that the petition for writ of certiorari was untimely and that a writ of mandamus was not an available remedy. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the circuit court (1) did not err in denying the writ of mandamus; but (2) erred in determining that it did not have jurisdiction to consider the writ of certiorari. The Court remanded the case for further proceedings to determine whether Appellant's petition seeking a writ of certiorari was timely filed. View "Hauck v. Clay County Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court denying Dakota Constructors, Inc.'s petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the decision of the Hanson County Board of Adjustment that Dakota would need a conditional use permit (CUP) under a Hanson County ordinance in order to extract sand, gravel, and rock from the property at issue.In 2021, Dakota purchased the property: a quarry located in Hanson County that had operated under a state license since 1986 to mine sand, gravel, and rock. The ordinance took effect in 2000. Dakota Constructors submitted a CUP application but argued that it did not need a CUP because the operation of the quarry was a continuing prior nonconforming use. The Hanson County Board of Adjustment disagreed and granted the CUP application with specified conditions. The circuit court denied Dakota's ensuing petition for a writ of certiorari. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Dakota failed to show that the Board's reading of the word "extraction" was contrary to the ordinance, contrary to state statute, or otherwise wrong or erroneous. View "Dakota Constructors, Inc. v. Hanson County Bd. of Adjustment" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court affirming the decision of the Deadwood Historic District Commission to deny a certificate of appropriateness sought by Harlan Kirwan to conduct renovations on a building he owned that was located in the Historic District, holding that there was no error.Kirwan, who owned a saloon located in the Historic District, applied for a certificate of appropriateness from the Commission after renovating the saloon's facade. The Commission denied the application and ordered Kirwan to remove the facade. Kirwan subsequently applied for a new certificate of appropriateness to cover the existing facade. The Commission denied the permit, and the circuit court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no error in the underlying decision. View "Kirwan v. City Of Deadwood" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the circuit court's judgment granting specific performance to the Estate of Gordon Campbell in this property dispute, holding that the circuit court erred by determining that there were not material facts in dispute regarding one claim.After Campbell died, his Estate sought to withdraw property contributed by him from Redwater Grazing Association, of which Campbell and John Nelson were founding members. Before the Estate attempted withdraw the property it tried sell it by soliciting bids from Nelson and Jared Capp. The Estate accepted Capp's offer and sought the deed for the property from Redwater so it could convey the property to Capp. Redwater refused to provide the deed. Nelson and Redwater then filed various claims against the Estate and Capp. The circuit court granted specific performance to the Estate and dismissed the remaining claims. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that the circuit court (1) did not err when it granted specific performance directing Redwater to deliver the deed for the property to the Estate; (2) did not err in failing to find a valid contract for the sale of the property between Nelson and the Estate; and (3) erred by granting summary judgment to Capp on Nelson's action for claim and delivery of personal property. View "Nelson v. Estate of Campbell" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court granting summary judgment concluding that Plains Commerce Bank could not foreclose on certain trust real estate, that the trustee's mortgage on trust real estate was void and unenforceable, and that Plaintiff was entitled to attorney fees, holding that the attorney fee award was an abuse of discretion.Garry and Betty Beck treated an irrevocable spendthrift trust naming their three children as secondary beneficiaries. Their child Matthew Beck took out a substantial personal loan with Plains Commerce and granted a mortgage to the bank on trust real estate as partial collateral. When Matthew defaulted on the loan, Plains Commerce brought a foreclosure action against Matthew in his capacity as trustee. Jamie Moeckly intervened on behalf of the trust. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Jamie and further granted her motion for attorney fees. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the circuit court erred in awarding attorney fees to Jamie as intervenor for the trust; and (2) because there was no mortgage foreclosure the statutory provision in S.D. Codified Laws 15-17-38 authorizing attorney fees "on foreclosure" did not apply. View "Plains Commerce Bank, Inc. v. Beck" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court's judgment accepting Plaintiff's adverse possession ownership claim and granting him an access easement under theories of prescriptive easement, easement by necessity, and an easement implied by prior use, holding that the circuit court's decision to grant an easement was not justified.Specifically, the Supreme Court held that the circuit court (1) erroneously applied the doctrine of acquiescence when it determined that Plaintiff and his predecessors in interest met the hostility requirement for adverse possession; and (2) erred when it granted Plaintiff a prescriptive easement allowing access to his land through the disputed property, and the access easement was also not authorized as an easement implied by prior use or necessity. View "Fuoss v. Dahlke Family Limited Partnership" on Justia Law