The SD Supreme Court handed down one decision this morning, holding inter alia:
- Estate dispute with Son of Deceased Addressed
ESTATE
OF LYNCH v. LYNCH, 2023 S.D. 23: Father
had been a lifelong farmer on 675 acres located close to Vermillion, running a “successful
crop and cattle operation on approximately 675 acres of farmland near
Vermillion.” Estate
of father sued Son “alleging claims for fiduciary fraud, conversion, breach of
fiduciary duty, and elder exploitation.” Son counterclaimed against
“the Estate for conversion, among other claims.” Jury ruled for Son on Estate’s claims against him;
and, the trial court entered judgment as a matter of law in favor of Son on his
counterclaim for conversion. On appeal,
the SD Supreme Court rendered a partial victory for the Estate, holding:
[¶58.] We reverse and remand the
judgment as to the Estate’s claims involving the two payable-on-death CDs [Son]
deposited in his individual account. On remand, the circuit court shall enter
judgment as a matter of law for compensatory damages of $31,590.22, plus
prejudgment interest, on the Estate’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty and
conversion. Based upon this disposition, the Estate’s claim for punitive
damages on this portion of the Estate’s claims remains an open question on
remand. The remainder of the judgment on the Estate’s claims and [Son’s] claim
for conversion is affirmed.
The
Court’s decision is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Chief Justice
Jensen.
This
decision may be accessed at
