The
SD Supreme Court handed down two decisions this morning:
- Landlord not liable for dog bite;
- Criminal conviction affirmed.
Summaries
follows:
DAVIES
v. GPHC, LLC, 2022 S.D. 55: This is a “dog bite” case filed by tenant against
his Landlord after tenant was bitten by dog named Tequila. Tequila was owned by
another tenant. Plaintiff brought general
negligence and negligence per se claims against Landlord. Trial court granted summary judgment for
Landlord on both claims because Plaintiff could not show Landlord had actual
knowledge of dangerous propensities and that the relevant statute (SDCL
40-34-13) for the negligence per se claim applied only to a “person
owning or keeping” of
Tequila. Landlord was not an owner
or keeper. The SD Supreme Court affirmed in a unanimous (5-0) with
opinion authored by Justice Salter.
STATE
v. LOESCHKE, 2022 S.D. 56: Following
jury trial, Defendant was sentenced to 15 years in prison, with 5 suspended,
and with this sentence to run consecutively with a sentence imposed in a
companion criminal case where Defendant was charged with witness tampering and
violation of a "no contact" order.
The facts and issues as developed at the trial level and as framed on
appeal are set forth in the opening paragraph of the Court's opinion as
follows:
[¶1.] Robert Loeschke was
indicted and subsequently tried in August 2020 for six counts of assault
against his girlfriend, Melissa Greenwalt, arising out of two separate
incidents. He was charged with one count of aggravated assault and two counts
of simple assault arising from a stab wound inflicted on Greenwalt on February
20, 2019. He was also charged with one count of aggravated assault and two
counts of simple assault arising from an assault with fists on June 17, 2018,
which left Greenwalt with a broken jaw. The jury convicted Loeschke on the
assault counts arising from the February 20, 2019 stabbing but acquitted him of
the charges from the June 17, 2018 broken-jaw incident. Prior to trial,
Loeschke had moved to sever the charges based on the dates of the offenses, but
the court denied his motion. At trial, Loeschke objected on hearsay grounds to
the admissibility of Greenwalt’s statements contained in recorded phone
conversations between Greenwalt and Loeschke while he was in jail. The circuit
court overruled the objection and admitted the statements as context to aid the
jury in understanding the conversation but gave the jury a limiting
instruction. Loeschke appeals the circuit court’s order denying his motion to
sever and the admission of the challenged statements at trial.
The
SD Supreme Court affirmed in a unanimous (5-0) ruling, with opinion authored by
Justice Kern.
These decisions may be accessed at
