Justia South Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Daughter was born with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities. Daughter's Father and Mother later divorced. After Daughter turned eighteen, a California court appointed Mother as Daughter's guardian and conservator. Mother subsequently moved to South Dakota with her new husband and Daughter. Thereafter, Father sought to end Mother's role as guardian and conservator. After a hearing, a South Dakota circuit court terminated Mother's appointment as guardian and conservator for Daughter, finding that Mother failed adequately to address Daughter's obesity and transition to more independent living. Mother appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in (1) preventing Mother from questioning attorneys appointed to represent Daughter about certain statements attorneys made in an investigative report, as the report was not entered into evidence at the hearing; and (2) removing Mother as Daughter's guardian and conservator, as Mother did not make significant progress toward the goal of moving Daughter into an independent residential living situation and failed promptly and aggressively to manage the issue of Daughter's weight. View "In re Guardianship of Stevenson" on Justia Law

Defendant, who was serving a life sentence in the South Dakota Penitentiary when he and another inmate assaulted a correctional officer, pled guilty to first-degree murder of the officer. Defendant waived his right to a jury determination of the appropriate sentence. After a pre-sentence hearing, the circuit court sentenced Defendant to death. Defendant appealed his sentence. The Supreme Court affirmed in all respects with one exception, holding (1) in selecting a sentence, the circuit court violated Defendant's right to be free from self-incrimination by improperly considering statements made by Defendant to a psychiatrist during a competency evaluation; and (2) the use of this statement was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Remanded to the circuit court to conduct a sentencing without this error. View "State v. Berget" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of second-degree rape. Defendant appealed a number of issues involving hearsay and the denial of a requested jury instruction, a Batson challenge, and an objection regarding the State's use of the word "rape" during trial. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant's challenges to testimony admitted at trial were either not preserved for appeal or were without merit; (2) the instructions that were given to the jury accurately stated the law and were not prejudicial to Defendant; (3) the trial court correctly denied Defendant's Batson challenge to the State's peremptory strike of a juror; and (4) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's objection to the use of the word "rape" during trial. View "State v. Roach" on Justia Law

Ila and Gary Fedderson owned a business called Whisky Flow Dining and Minor Alley. Whisky Flow was destroyed by fire, after which Ila and Gary submitted a sworn proof of loss statement to the business's insurer, Columbia Insurance Group. Gary, however, made misrepresentations and committed fraud in submitting the statement. Columbia declined to pay Ila benefits, relying on a condition that voided the policy for fraud or misrepresentation by any insured. Ila filed suit, claiming that she was an innocent insured who was entitled to her share of the claim that related to her fifty percent interest in the business. The circuit court granted summary judgment for Columbia. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court correctly granted Columbia's motion for summary judgment, as Gary's misrepresentation and fraud voided the policy. View "Fedderson v. Columbia Ins. Group" on Justia Law

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) approved plans and specifications for the Brant Lake Sanitary District's wastewater treatment facility in 2012. The Brant Lake facility plans proposed to join and expand the Chester Sanitary District's existing wastewater disposal system. The plans included the construction of an additional treatment lagoon to tie into Chester's existing two-cell lagoon system. The plans also included the construction of additional piping to transport wastewater to the treatment lagoons. Plaintiffs' home and business were near the proposed lagoon. Plaintiffs filed an application for a writ of mandamus requiring DENR to comply with applicable state statutes, administrative rules, and DENR internal guidelines in approving the plans and specifications for the Brant Lake facility. The trial court denied the writ. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiffs did not meet their burden to show that DENR disregarded a clear duty to act under the applicable statutes, administrative rules, or manuals, and accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Plaintiffs' application for writ of mandamus. View "Krsnak v. Dep't of Env't & Natural Res." on Justia Law

Father was the biological father of three sons and one daughter and the stepfather of two stepdaughters. Upon allegations that Father raped one of his stepdaughters, the children were taken into the custody of the Department of Social Services (DSS). DSS subsequently filed a petition alleging that the children were abused or neglected. Ultimately, the circuit court terminated Father's parental rights to all of his biological children. Father appealed, arguing that DSS did not make active efforts to reunite the Indian family and that termination of his parental rights was not the least restrictive alternative commensurate with the best interests of the children. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) based upon the circumstances, DSS actively attempted to reunify the family, but those efforts were unsuccessful; and (2) the circuit court did not err in finding that the least restrictive alternative commensurate with the best interests of the children was termination of Father's parental rights. View "In re Interest of S.H.E." on Justia Law

While driving a car owned by her divorced parents, Plaintiff was hit and injured by an uninsured drunk driver. Plaintiff's father's policy specifically covered Plaintiff's car and paid Plaintiff $100,000 in uninsured motorist benefits. This amount did not fully compensate Plaintiff for her injuries, however, and Plaintiff filed a claim under her mother's policy with Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Nebraska (Insurer). The policy did not specifically cover Plaintiff's car but covered Plaintiff as an insured. Farmers denied Plaintiff's claim for uninsured motorist benefits under an "owned-but-not-insured" exclusion in its policy. Plaintiff subsequently filed an action seeking a declaration that the "owned-but-not-insured" exclusion was void and that she was entitled to uninsured motorist benefits from Farmers. The circuit court granted summary judgment in favor of Farmers, concluding that the exclusion was valid and enforceable in relation to uninsured motorist coverage. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the circuit court incorrectly applied the law when it used the Supreme Court's statements in previous cases to conclude that the exclusion was valid and enforceable under S.D. Codified Laws 58-11-9; and (2) the "owned-but-not-insured" exclusion was void in this case. View "Wheeler v. Farmers Mut. Ins. Co. of Neb." on Justia Law

In this custody dispute between the non-married parents of two minor children, the maternal grandparents were permitted to join/intervene. After a trial, the circuit court awarded legal and physical custody to the grandparents and visitation to the father. The father appealed. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the grandparents' joinder/intervention, as the grandparents made a sufficient showing for joinder/intervention; (2) reversed the custody award, holding that the circuit court erred in awarding the grandparents custody because the grandparents did not meet their evidentiary burden, and the Court could not consider the court's findings regarding the best interests of the children; and (3) remanded for findings of fact, conclusions of law, and reconsideration of the issue of attorney's fees. View "Veldheer v. Peterson" on Justia Law

Defendant was charged separately with DUI and distribution of a controlled substance. A plea agreement was reached in both cases. The state's attorney's office agreed to recommend that the DUI sentence run concurrent to the sentence imposed for the distribution charge. At Defendant's sentencing hearing, the attorney general's office initially argued against running the sentences concurrently. The assistant attorney general, however, when made aware of the plea agreement, withdrew his argument against concurrent sentences. The circuit court sentenced Defendant to six years for the DUI and five years for the distribution charge, the sentences to be served consecutively. Defendant appealed, arguing that the State breached the plea agreement by initially arguing against concurrent sentences. The Supreme Court affirmed the sentences because Defendant did not contemporaneously object to the alleged violation of the plea agreement and because Defendant did not establish that the error caused him prejudice. View "State v. Olvera" on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with and found guilty of aggravated child abuse. The charges stemmed from the bruising found on the face of Defendant's fiancee's daughter, six-year-old K.N., while K.N. was at school. Defendant appealed, arguing that the verdict was not sustained by the evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that there was sufficient evidence to support Defendant's conviction beyond a reasonable doubt, as evidence was presented from which the jury could find that Defendant's grabbing and squeezing of K.N.'s face were enough to cause extensive bruising across K.N.'s face and neck and a subconjunctival hemorrhage in one of her eyes, and that Defendant's actions were not permissible discipline. View "State v. Morgan" on Justia Law