City Park in Spearfish, subject of litigation

The SD Supreme Court handed down 1 new decision this morning. Summary is set forth below. 1) City of Spearfish dealt a blow in dispute over asserted public roadway across city park., Summary follows: TURGEON v. CITY OF SPEARFISH, 2026 S.D. 22: Landowners in Spearfish claim they need access across the Thone Stone Monument property owned by City of Sturgis and operated as a City Park. Landowners claim that the road on this park property provides their only access to the real estate. Landowners filed suit for a Declaratory Judgment that the park road was a road which had been dedicated to the public, relying, inter alia, on a plat which was recorded in 2012 which stated that the road was dedicated to the public. The City was using a locked gate across the road to block access. The trial court granted summary judgment for the City, holding that the 2012 plat language had never been officially accepted by the City. The trial court rejected landowners arguments that the City had expressly accepted the dedication and, alternatively that the City had implicitly accepted the dedication, stating: [¶40.] However, in determining whether there was an implied acceptance of the dedication, the circuit court failed to consider logical inferences from the facts and the court inappropriately weighed the competing evidence regarding this issue. We, therefore, reverse the circuit court’s decision granting the City’s motion for summary judgment and remand the case for trial on the question of whether there was an implied acceptance of the 2012 dedication by the City. The matter is reversed and remanded for trial on the issue of implied acceptance. This decision is unanimous (5-0), with opinion authored by Retired Justice Kern. NOTE: Information about this historical Monument is provided In ¶3 of the opinion, as follows: “The Thoen Stone was discovered on Lookout Mountain in 1887. It recounts the story of gold prospectors who traveled to the Black Hills in search of gold in 1834, forty years before the Black Hills Gold Rush. A replica of the Thoen Stone, the Thoen Stone Monument, now sits at the end of St. Joe Street in Spearfish and is accessible via the Road.” And in footnote 1 of the opinion as follows: “Although not contained in the record, the following information is of significant historical interest. The stone slab, dated 1834, recounts the story of Ezra Kind and his companions who traveled to the Black Hills in search of gold. The marker calls into question the date of the first discovery of gold in the Black Hills, which was previously thought to be 1874 after the Custer Expedition and the subsequent gold rush. The stone, which was buried several feet below the surface, was discovered in 1887 by Louis Thoen on Lookout Mountain in Spearfish. The original stone is located in the Adams Museum and House in Deadwood. The replica sits above Spearfish at the end of the Thoen Stone Road east of town.” This decision may be accessed at http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .

Grand Theft and Conspiracy Convictions Reversed

The SD Supreme Court handed down 1 new decision this morning. Summary is set forth below. 1) Convictions for Grand Theft and Conspiracy Reversed Summary follows: STATE v. SPRY, 2026 S.D. 21: Husband and Wife (H & W) were charged with handling matters for Uncle, by virtue of a Power of Attorney. After Uncle died intestate, H & W transferred funds from a joint bank account (for all three) into their separate account. This criminal prosecution was institute at the urging of an attorney for “concerned relatives.” After a 3-day Jury trial in Bon Homme County, H & W were both convicted of some misdemeanor charges but also convicted of Grand Theft and Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft. In ruling on joint appeals, the SD Supreme Court reversed and remanded the Grand Theft and Conspiracy to Commit Grand Theft convictions. The reversal is based upon evidentiary error and error in the jury instructions, as stated by the Court: [¶45.] [T]he court erred by not admitting Way’s [Susan Was was an agent of H & W who witnessed Uncle’s execution of documents] testimony of [Uncle’s] contemporaneous out-of-court statements under SDCL 19-19-803(3). We further conclude that the circuit court erred when instructing the jury on the burden of proof the State must meet to rebut the presumption that [Uncle] intended the [H & W] to have rights of survivorship with respect to the funds remaining in the joint bank account. Accordingly, we reverse the grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft convictions and remand for further proceedings. This decision is unanimous (5-0) by the Court, with opinion authored by Justice Kern. NOTE: Relatives also sued H & W in federal court in a civil action which prompted a decision by the SD Supreme Court in Matter of Certification of Question of Law from United States District Court, District of South Dakota, 2022 S.D. 60, 981 N.W.2d 325. NOTE also: The successful attorney in this case is former student John Hinrichs who also served as Magistrate Judge in the 2nd Circuit for 9 years, 2006-2017. Congratulations John! This decision may be accessed at http://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opinions.aspx .