The
SD Supreme Court handed down three decisions this morning:
- Tort judgment enhanced by $700:
- Work Comp appeal fails due to failure to notify DOL;
- HSC permitted to administer psychotropic
medication to patient involuntarily committed.
Summaries
follows:
LAMB
v. WINKLER, 2023 S.D. 10: Plaintiffs brought tort action for damages to the
person of H and to their tractor as a result of decedent rear-ending H when he
was driving the tractor. (Decedent died
as a result of this collision.) Trial
was to the Court, not by jury. Trial
court awarded total damages of $36,498.80.
The SD Supreme Court remanded, directing the trial court to increase the
award by $700 to cover the cost of a new batter for the tractor. This decision is unanimous (5-0), with
opinion authored by Justice Kern.
HUSSEIN
v. SHOWPLACE WOOD PRODUCTS INC., 2023 S.D. 11: This is a Work Comp claim. The
Administrative Law Judge granted summary judgment to employer and employer’s
insurer. The trial court dismissed the
employee’s appeal because Notice of Appeal had not been served on the Dept. of
Labor. The SD Supreme Court affirmed,
stating:
[¶19.] Because Hussein did not
serve his notice of appeal to the circuit court on the Department within 30
days after the ALJ served notice of its amended letter decision, the circuit
court properly dismissed Hussein’s administrative appeal. Further, because the
circuit court was without subject matter jurisdiction, this Court likewise
lacks jurisdiction over the merits of Hussein’s appeal. See Cable v. Union
Cnty. Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs, 2009 S.D. 59, ¶ 52, 769 N.W.2d 817, 833.
This
decision is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Justice DeVaney.
JOHNSON
v. B.T., 2023 S.D. 12: Involuntary commitment patient at Human Services
Center (HSC) appeals the trial court’s ruling permitting HSC “to
administer psychotropic medication to B.T. for up to one year.” The SD Supreme Court affirmed in a unanimous
(5-0), with opinion authored by Justice Salter.
These
decisions may be accessed at
