The SD Supreme Court handed down two decisions this morning:
1) Tort verdict against Highway Patrolman upheld;
2) Medical Cannabis Dispensary prevails in license request;
Summaries follows:
WEILAND v. BUMANN, 2025 S.D. 9: This is a personal injury suit against a Highway Patrolman for a motor vehicle accident in which the Patrolman’s “immediate supervisor, determined that [the Patrolman] violated SDHP safety policies and that the accident was preventable.” Plaintiff’s claims are premised on 1 Count of Negligence and 5 Counts of Negligence Per Se’ (citing 5 separate traffic offenses). The jury awarded Plaintiff $21,122.25, consisting of, “$17,500 in non-economic damages and $1,161.50 in past medical expenses.” The trial court entered judgment for Plaintiff on the verdict. Plaintiff appealed and Defendant filed a cross appeal. The SD Supreme Court affirmed. This decision is unanimous (5-0) with opinion authored by Justice Salter. (Note: This accident occurred in Minnehaha County and was investigated by a Minnehaha County Deputy Sheriff who prepared an Accident Report.)
PUFFY’S, LLC v. DEP’T OF HEALTH, 2025 S.D. 10: Medical Cannabis Dispensary prevails in dispute with State regarding State’s failure to appropriately issue it a license. The history, facts, and result are reported in the opening paragraph of the Court’s opinion as follows:
[¶1.] Puffy’s, LLC was first in line on a waiting list to receive a state registration certificate from the South Dakota Department of Health (Department). The certificate was required in order to operate a medical cannabis dispensary in Rapid City (City). After the Department failed to issue the certificate, Puffy’s brought a mandamus action in circuit court seeking an order compelling the Department to issue the certificate to Puffy’s. The circuit court granted the writ of mandamus. The Department appeals, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction, or in the alternative, abused its discretion in granting the writ. We affirm.
This ruling is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Justice DeVaney.
These decisions may be accessed at
http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .
