Justia South Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of simple assault, holding that the circuit court did not err by denying Defendant's motion to sever or in admitted statements contained in recorded phone conversations while Defendant was in jail.Defendant was charged with one count of aggravated assault and two counts of simple assault arising from a stab wound inflicted on Melissa Greenwalt on February 20, 2019 and was also charged with the same offenses arising from an assault inflicted on Greenwalt with fists, leaving her with a broken jaw. After Defendant unsuccessfully moved to sever the charges based on the dates of the offenses a jury convicted him on the assault charges arising from the 2019 stabbing but acquitted him of the charges from the 2018 broken-jaw incident. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court (1) did not err in denying Defendant's motion to sever; and (2) did not err in admitting portions of the recorded phone calls made by Defendant to Greenwalt. View "State v. Loeschke" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of second-degree arson stemming from a fire that occurred in Defendant's home, for which she submitted a claim to her insurer seeking to recover for the damage to her home, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her claims of error.On appeal, Defendant argued that the circuit court erred in denying her motion for judgment of acquittal and that she was denied her fundamental right to due process. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the circuit court's factual findings were legally sufficient to support a conviction of second-degree arson; (2) the circuit court did not err when it denied Defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal; and (3) Defendant was not denied her constitutional right to due process and a fair trial. View "State v. Krouse" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that S.D. Codified Laws 58-29B-56 provides a state insurance liquidator an additional 180 days to provide a notice of a claim under a claims-made professional liability policy.The South Dakota Director of Insurance filed a petition for an order of liquidation of ReliaMax Surety Company (RSC), a subsidiary of ReliaMax Holding Company (RHC). The circuit court declared RSC to be insolvent and directed the company's liquidation. The state insurance liquidator (Liquidator) later commenced the underlying action against the directors and officers (D&O) of RSC and RHC. Under a settlement agreement, the Liquidator was granted a final judgment, agreeing not to execute upon and instead receiving an assignment of the D&Os' claims for coverage under a policy issued by SL Specialty. The Liquidator then brought this action against XL Speciality. At issue was the timeliness of the Liquidator's claim seeking D&O coverage. The district court certified questions of law to the Supreme Court. The Court held that section 58-29B-56 provides a state insurance liquidator an additional 180 days to provide notice of a claim under a claims-made professional liability policy. View "Deiter v. XL Specialty Insurance Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of a general contractor based on the general contractor's statutory immunity under S.D. Codified Laws 62-3-10, holding that the circuit court properly concluded that workers' compensation was the sole remedy available to Appellant.Plaintiff received a work-related injury at a construction site where his employer was a subcontractor. Plaintiff received workers' compensation benefits from his employer and then filed a negligence claim against the construction project's general contractor. The general contract subsequently amended its answer to assert statutory immunity under section 62-3-10. The circuit court granted summary judgment for the general contractor, concluding that the general contractor remained potentially liable for workers' compensation under S.D. Codified Laws 62-3-10 and, because of the exclusivity provisions of section 62-3-2, workers' compensation was Plaintiff's sole remedy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err in granting summary judgment for JM. View "Ries v. JM Custom Homes, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the circuit court denying the motions filed by Kristina Libbert and Darren Hickey to intervene in the underlying petition challenging the validity of an amendment to the Shirley A. Hickey Trust and for clarification and reconsideration, holding that a portion of the order denying the motion for clarification and reconsideration must be vacated.Nearly one year after Bradley Hickey filed a petition challenging the validity of an amendment to the Shirley A. Hickey Trust Kristina and Darren moved to intervene in the petition. The circuit court denied the motion on the grounds that it was untimely. Thereafter, Kristina and Darren filed their motion for clarification and reconsideration, which the circuit court denied. The Supreme Court (1) reversed the order denying intervention, holding that remand was required to consider the timeliness of the motion to intervene under the standards set forth in S.D. Codified Laws 15-6-24(a)(2); and (2) vacated the portion of the circuit court's order on the motion for clarification and reconsideration, holding that the trial court must reconsider this order after reconsidering Kristina and Darren's request for intervention. View "In re Hickey Living Trust" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court denying the cross-motions for summary judgment filed by the parties in this case, holding that summary judgment should have been granted to Rema Kolda as a matter of law on counts one, two, and four.DT-Trak Consulting, Inc., a medical consulting firm and independent contractor, sued Kolda, its former employee, for alleged violations of multiple provisions of a non-complete agreement. Kolda counterclaimed for barratry. Thereafter, the parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment, which the circuit court denied. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) Kolda was not in violation of the non-compete provision of the agreement, and summary judgment should have been granted on this count; and (2) Kolda was entitled to summary judgment on count four, which alleged the existence of a trade secret, and count one, which alleged the existence of a trade secret in addition to proprietary information and "confidential information." View "Dt-Trak Consulting, Inc. v. Kolda" on Justia Law

In this divorce action, the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part orders entered by two different circuit court judges related to James Farmer's distributional interest in Lakota Lake Camp, LLC and orders related to the release of funds to James's wife, Lori Lieberman, that were previously held by the clerk of court following the execution sale of property owned by Lakota Lake, holding that the court erred in part.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the collection court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear and determine Lori's application for a charging order; (2) the divorce court erred in ordering the release of excess sale proceeds to Lori; and (3) the collection court's order denying Lakota Lake's motion to release to the company the excess sale proceeds from the sale of Granite Perch, the last remaining property owned by Lakota Lake, to Lori must be vacated and the case remanded for further proceedings on the issue. View "Farmer v. Farmer" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court dismissing this complaint alleging several breaches related to conduct allegedly occurring in connection with the ownership and operation of a pet grooming business, holding that several causes of action were improperly dismissed.The complaint in this case alleged claims for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of the duty of loyalty, breach of the duty of care, conversion, and unjust enrichment, and a separate cause of action for punitive damages. The circuit court dismissed the complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim. The Supreme Court largely reversed, holding (1) Plaintiff properly instituted this action against Defendant; (2) the circuit court erred in dismissing the causes of action for breach of the duty of loyalty, breach of the duty of care, conversion, and unjust enrichment; and (3) Plaintiff's request for punitive damages was sufficiently pled. View "Mach v. Connors" on Justia Law

In this tort suit brought against an employer by an employee the Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the circuit court denying both parties' motions for summary judgment, holding that the court erred in denying the employer's motion for summary judgment.The employee in this case died after falling off the roof of a building he was working on for a subcontractor. After the employee's estate brought this tort action the employer moved for summary judgment, asserting that under S.D. Codified Laws 62-3-2, workers' compensation was the estate's exclusive remedy. In response, the estate argued that the exception to S.D. Codified Laws 52.-3-2 for intentional torts applied. The circuit court denied summary judgment for either party. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding that there was no issue of material of fact in dispute on the question of whether the employer committed an intentional tort in this case. View "Althoff v. Pro-Tec Roofing, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the circuit court determining that Healy Ranch, Inc. (HRI) possessed marketable record title to certain real property in Brule County, voiding Bret Healy's notice of claim, and denying HRI's request for attorney fees, holding that there was no error.HRI brought this quiet title action under the South Dakota Marketable Title Act (SDMTA) seeking to defeat Healy's notice of claim to the disputed real property and establish for itself marketable record title to the property. HRI also sought costs and attorneys fees. Healy counterclaimed, seeking to quiet title to the property in the name of Healy Ranch Partnership (HRP). The circuit court granted summary judgment for HRI. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Healy's notice of claim was timely, but the cause of action was precluded, and the notice should be voided on this basis; and (2) the circuit court's denial of HRI's request for attorney fees was not erroneous. View "Healy Ranch, Inc. v. Healy" on Justia Law