71 results for 'court:"South Dakota Supreme Court"'.
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly entered conviction after defendant pleaded guilty to a Class 5 felony version of grand theft. However, the panel vacates and remands for resentencing to apply a proper provision under South Dakota Codified Law. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 2024SD27, Categories: Sentencing, Theft
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered judgment after defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer. The charges arose out of an extremely dangerous high-speed chase during which defendant repeatedly fired weapons at pursuing officers. The circuit court sentenced defendant to serve two concurrent life sentences to run consecutively to sentences he was already serving for other offenses. Defendant claimed that his sentence was cruel and unusual in violation of the Eighth Amendment and was an abuse of the circuit court’s discretion. The sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the gravity of defendant's offenses and therefore did not violate the Eighth Amendment. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 2024SD26, Categories: Constitution, Sentencing, Assault
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly affirmed the decision of The Sully County Board of Commissioners to deny a claim for reimbursement under county poor-relief statutes for emergency medical treatment provided to an individual. The individual is a Mexican national who worked on a seasonal visa for a few months per year in Sully County. While working in Sully County in 2014, the individual suffered appendicitis and required emergency medical services. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 2024SD25, Categories: Employment, Health Care
J. Salter finds that the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment and remanded for further proceedings a matter concerning a dispute of ownership of a semi truck. However, the lower court correctly determined that “drafting errors” alleged by the semi owner would not, themselves, preclude obtaining the title to the property. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2024SD24, Categories: Vehicle, Contract
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J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly denied a breach of contract claim brought by a woman against the estate of her deceased husband. The son of the deceased opposed the partial summary judgment motion, arguing that a previous decision resolved the claim against the estate and precluded any further effort to change or refine the claim. The circuit court agreed and concluded that the woman was barred from litigating her breach of contract claim against the estate. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 2024SD23, Categories: Wills / Probate, Contract
J. Devaney finds that the district court improperly granted summary judgment regarding decedent’s will, devising farmland to the decedent’s sister-in-law. Three contestants to the will appealed, asserting that the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment on grounds not briefed or argued to the court, which was therefore incorrect in concluding that judgment was appropriate. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD20, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly entered conviction after defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation of a minor, one count of sexual contact with a minor under the age of sixteen and one count of rape in the fourth degree. Defendant claimed that his sentence contained an improper enhancement on his sentence after it had already commenced. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD21, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Devaney finds that an administrative law judge (ALJ) improperly determined that an individual was not entitled to pandemic unemployment benefits in a matter in which the ALJ held that the individual must repay $24,690 in pandemic unemployment benefits he received from the South Dakota Department of Labor, Reemployment Assistance Division. However, the lower court properly determined attorney fees. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD19, Categories: Employment, Covid-19, Attorney Fees
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly entered conviction after defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree rape. Defendant contends the circuit court improperly denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea because of his “lack of communication with his trial lawyer.” Defendant affirmed to the circuit court that he voluntarily and knowingly entered the plea agreement without coercion and with a complete understanding of its ramifications and the rights he would be waiving. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 2024SD17, Categories: Sex Offender, Plea
J. Kern finds that the circuit court improperly excluded evidence pertaining to sex toys that were used when defendant alleged that he was engaged in a consensual encounter. A woman who has a daughter with defendant alleged that she was raped and the only interaction with the sex toys was when she threw one at defendant after grabbing it away from him during the attack. Defendant was found guilty and appeals, arguing that the
court abused its discretion in excluding evidence of the sex toys and allowing the state to cross examine based on unadmitted text messages. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 2024SD18, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court improperly denied defendant's motion to withdraw without allowing her or her attorney an opportunity to establish good cause for the request. The matter stems from one count of unauthorized ingestion of a schedule I or II controlled substance. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: March 6, 2024, Case #: 2024SD14, Categories: Drug Offender
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court erred in sentencing defendant after he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance. While the lower court considered many factors and found them to be aggravating when it imposed a 5-year prison sentence, it also specifically found that defendant does not pose a significant risk to the public. Under that framework, the circuit court should have entered a sentence of probation. Vacated.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 2024SD13, Categories: Drug Offender, Probation, Sentencing
J. Salter finds that the circuit court improperly denied a motion for dismissal of criminal charges under South Dakot Codified Law which requires dismissal of a defendant’s criminal charges when “there is no substantial probability that the defendant will become competent to proceed in the foreseeable future.” The court committed defendant to a state facility for competency restoration treatment. Those efforts have not been successful, and as a result of a series of “re-commitments,” defendant remains committed. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: February 21, 2024, Case #: 2024SD12, Categories: Competence, Commitment
J. Salter entered answers concerning Governor Kristi Noem's request for advisory opinion on nine individual and fact-specific questions concerning the constitutional restriction upon legislators. The Governor's nine questions addressed a range of issues on legistlative restriction topics including contracts, employment status and retirement compensation.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: February 9, 2024, Case #: 2024SD11, Categories: Administrative Law
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court improperly granted a former land owner's motion for summary judgment in a quiet title action. The owner moved for summary judgment, arguing that it had not been validly served with the notice of intent to take tax deed, rendering the tax deed void. Notice had been properly served. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 2024SD7, Categories: Property
J. Jensen finds that the circuit court properly granted medical providers' motions which sought a declaratory judgment establishing their right to participate as panel providers in each of the health benefit plans offered by a health plan. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Jensen , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 2024SD9, Categories: Health Care
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly granted a tenant’s motion for summary judgment concerning a breach of the management agreement claim for the purchase and subsequent leasing of a home. The circuit court also held that individuals were entitled to attorney fees under the terms of the listing agreement. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 2024SD10, Categories: Property, Attorney Fees
J. Salter finds that the circuit court properly dismissed an appeal challenging the constitutionality of a tax after an audit revealed that a company had not paid use tax on equipment. The tax did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment or the Interstate Commerce Clause. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 2024SD8, Categories: Constitution, Tax
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly denied a daughter's motion for further discovery in an action in which a trust was left from a deceased individual and was invested in a money market account, earning a small amount of interest income. The daughter sued, claiming that a failure to properly invest the trust assets constituted bad faith and gross negligence due to the trust's small investment returns. The lower court properly granted summary judgment in favor of a bank and the son of the deceased. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 2024SD5, Categories: Trusts, Banking / Lending
J. Kern finds that the circuit court properly entered conviction of third-degree rape after a four-day trial. Defendant challenged the validity of a search warrant for location data from his phone. The lower court properly made a determination on the validity of the search warrant. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Kern, Filed On: January 17, 2024, Case #: 2024SD4, Categories: Search, Sex Offender
J. Myren finds that the circuit court properly denied a company's request for a refund from the South Dakota Department of Revenue. The company is a South Dakota-licensed wholesaler of tobacco products that purchased products known as "Other Tobacco Products" (OTP). The Department of Revenue determined that the tax was properly assessed for the purchases of OTP. Affirmed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Myren, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD1, Categories: Commerce, Tax
J. Salter finds that the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment in a matter in which The McCook County Board of Adjustment determined that five lots owned by an individual in an area zoned for agricultural use did not include individual building eligibilities under a zoning ordinance. The lower court erroneously supplanted a plain application of the text with a determination of the County's intent to hold that the lots were not buildable. Reversed.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Salter, Filed On: January 10, 2024, Case #: 2024SD2, Categories: Property, Zoning
J. Schreier denies a university's motion to to dismiss retaliation claims brought by two music professors who alleged they were illegally terminated. A female professor was allegedly excluded from meetings so the men could engage in “real talk.” She filed a Title Title IX complaint claiming discrimination and retaliation. Another professor allegedly faced similar retaliation after the female professor told university officials that he would be a witness for her. He was subsequently removed from his position as director of choral studies. The female professor's sex discrimination claims with respect to her alleged removal as department chair, director of vocal studies, director of the university summer music camp and reduced salary continue.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Schreier, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: 4:23cv4086, Categories: Education, Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Devaney finds that the circuit court properly rejected the South Dakota Department of Transportation's claims that a car collision and personal injury matter were barred. A driver rolled his pickup while driving on a portion of Highway 45 that was being resurfaced. He brought suit against the contractor responsible for the resurfacing project and against the South Dakota Department of Transportation. The portion of the court’s denial of summary judgment relating to the precautionary measures the driver alleged the Department should have taken is reversed. The matter is remanded for further proceedings. Affirmed in part.
Court: South Dakota Supreme Court, Judge: Devaney , Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 2023SD66, Categories: Transportation, Vehicle