Court: South Dakota Supreme Court
Citation: 2022 S.D. 1
Opinion Date: January 5, 2022
Judge: Jensen
Areas of Law: Personal Injury
This case law update is brought to you by Freeway Law auto accident and personal injury lawyers in Orange County. The following is not one of our cases, but it is of some significance, and we thought we should share it with our readers for informational purposes. The information above is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice.
The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment entered by the circuit court in favor of Defendant, Rapid City, and dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint about negligence, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below.
Plaintiff was riding her bicycle near the curb on a street in Rapid City when her front tire fell through a storm drain grate she was riding over (grate four), causing her to crash and suffer a spinal cord injury. Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that the City was negligent for failing to repair a modified and subsequently damaged grate four. The circuit court granted the City’s motion for summary judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiff failed to present any evidence to show that grate four was in a damaged condition on the day of her accident; and (2) S.D. Codified Laws 31-32-10 do not provide a remedy against a governmental entity for known dangerous design defects on a highway or street.
