Justia South Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In this case, the Supreme Court interpreted a trust instrument to decide whether the death of Betty Plouf triggered the offset provision of the Plouf Family Trust, and thus, instantaneously satisfied the mortgage lien the Trust held on the home of a beneficiary. The trial court held that it did. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court had inherent authority to revisit an earlier order finding that the Trust had a first-priority lien; (2) the trial court did not err in ruling that the unambiguous terms of the Trust mandated an offset at the time of Betty's death, thus extinguishing the underlying mortgage; and (3) neither party was entitled to appellate attorney fees. View "SBS Fin. Servs., Inc. v. Plouf Family Trust" on Justia Law

A father petitioned to modify his child support obligation, requesting that his future payments be reduced to account for overpayments he made after his two eldest sons graduated from high school and reached the age of majority. Concluding that this request would result in a retroactive modification of child support in violation of S.D. Codified Laws 25-7-7.3, the referee denied any reduction for amounts overpaid before the petition was filed. The circuit court adopted the referee's report. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err when it interpreted section 25-7-7.3 to prohibit retroactive reduction of the father's future support obligation to account for his overpayments. View "Heumiller v. Heumiller " on Justia Law

Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of malicious intimidation or harassment, first-degree burglary, disorderly conduct, and commission of a felony while armed with a firearm for an incident in which Defendant and Robert Anderson entered the home of Summer Neuman and caused a ruckus. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal on his conviction of commission of a felony while armed with a firearm; but (2) the trial court committed a prejudicial error by precluding Defendant from introducing evidence regarding Anderson's suspicion that individuals residing in Neuman's house had stolen tires from Anderson and committed other thefts, as the court's ruling excluded relevant evidence of Defendant and Anderson's intent. View "State v. Jucht" on Justia Law

George J. Caruso was convicted of simple assault and sentenced to 360 days in the Meade County Jail. He sought bail pending appeal, but the motion was denied. Caruso appealed the denial of bond asserting that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the trial court discussed the statutory factors, made findings of fact regarding each factor, and provided reasons for denying the motion. In particular, the court found that as a resident of Massachusetts, Caruso was more of a flight risk following sentencing because he was convicted and sentenced to 360 days in jail. Thus, the court reasoned, Caruso was no longer holding out hope for a lighter sentence and would be less inclined to appear for sentencing. The trial court’s findings of fact were supported by the record and accordingly were not clearly erroneous. Accordingly, the Court concluded the trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing bail pending the outcome of the appeal. View "South Dakota v. Caruso" on Justia Law

The plaintiffs and appellants are former students who attended an elementary boarding school. They alleged that they were sexually abused while attending the school more than thirty-five years ago. The students filed suits against some alleged perpetrators and entity defendants Blue Cloud Abbey, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the Oblate Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls. The entity defendants were alleged to have owned, operated, or controlled the school when the abuse allegedly occurred. After a prior appeal to the Supreme Court, the circuit court granted summary judgment both for and against the entity defendants on a large number of substantive and procedural issues. The circuit court later granted a motion to dismiss all remaining claims against the three entity defendants who are the appellees in these appeals. Because it was dispositive, the Court only addressed one issue raised by the entity defendants by notice of review. Upon review, the Court concluded that an extended statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse did not apply in these cases because the entity defendants were not perpetrators who were alleged to have engaged in intentional, criminal conduct. Because these lawsuits were filed more than twenty years after the applicable statute of limitations expired, the Court affirmed the circuit court’s dismissal. View "Bernie et al v. Blue Cloud Abbey" on Justia Law

While driving a farm tractor down a county road, Defendant John Fuks turned unexpectedly and struck Plaintiff John Walter's motorcycle as Plaintiff was trying to pass on the right. At trial, Defendant asserted that Plaintiff was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time and was barred from recovering based on contributory negligence and assumption of the risk. A jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff. On appeal, the Supreme Court concluded that the circuit court erroneously instructed the jury on the presumptions applicable only to criminal prosecutions for DUI. Also, Plaintiff's repeated violations of the court's in limine order, improperly disclosing that Plaintiff was not prosecuted for DUI, unfairly suggested to the jury that law enforcement officials had effectively resolved the issue whether plaintiff was driving under the influence. The case was remanded for further proceedings. View "Walter v. Fuks" on Justia Law

Arla Johnson deeded farmland to her daughter Linda, and son-in-law, Claude Miller. Linda subsequently filed for divorce from Claude. Arla then sued Claude, claiming she was fraudulently induced by him into deeding the land. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Claude. Claude appealed the denial of his motion for attorney’s fees. On appeal, Claude argued Arla's suit was malicious and frivolous, and therefore when the trial court ruled in his favor, he was entitled to attorney's fees. The Supreme Court deferred to the trial court's discretion when it decided the suit was not malicious or frivolous, and affirmed the trial court's judgment. View "Johnson v. Miller" on Justia Law

Defendant Eric Robert pled guilty to first-degree murder for the death of penitentiary guard Ronald Johnson, a 23-year veteran correctional officer at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Defendant waived his right to a jury’s determination of whether the death sentence would be imposed. The circuit court conducted a pre-sentence hearing and imposed the death penalty. Subsequent to pleading guilty, Defendant consistently sought imposition of the death penalty and that the execution be expedited. Even though he waived his right to appeal the death sentence, the Supreme Court was statutorily mandated to conduct a review of the sentence. Upon review, the Court found that the circuit court did not base its sentencing decision on any passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor. The evidence supported the aggravating circumstances found by the circuit court, and the death sentence was neither disproportionate nor excessive when compared to other South Dakota cases in which a capital sentencing phase was conducted. The death sentence was affirmed, and the case remanded to the circuit court for entry of a warrant of execution. View "South Dakota v. Robert" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs-Appellants Wayne and Sandra Masloskie sued real estate agent G. Pat Baldwin and Century 21 American Real Estate Inc. on a number of causes of action including actual fraud. Baldwin and Century 21 moved for summary judgment, arguing that all causes of action were barred by statutes of limitation governing realtor malpractice. The circuit court granted summary judgment dismissing all claims. Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their cause of action for fraud. Because that cause of action was subject to a longer statute of limitations, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded that portion of the judgment. View "Masloskie v. Century 21 American Real Estate, Inc." on Justia Law

Defendant Courtney Koch was arrested for DUI on February 27, 2011. The magistrate judge entered an order suppressing all evidence obtained from the initial traffic stop. The State appealed to the circuit court. Defendant moved to dismiss the appeal, which the circuit court denied. The Supreme Court granted Defendant's petition for intermediate appeal. The issue was whether the circuit court had jurisdiction to entertain the State's appeal from the magistrate's order suppressing the evidence. Because the magistrate's order did not finally dispose of the case, it was not a final order appealable to the circuit court. View "South Dakota v. Koch" on Justia Law