Court Opinion

ID: 9736749
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:05:11.778201+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:27:08.647580
License: Public Domain

FOSHEIM, Justice
(dissenting).
The majority, in footnote 1, does not accurately set out the pleadings and ignores *167Orr v. Kneip, 287 N.W.2d 480 (S.D.1979). Orr clearly spells out when a jury trial is available in a declaratory judgment action.
The pleadings tell the story and Orr supplies the result. Plaintiffs’ original complaint alleged the existence of a contract and asked the trial court to award them damages if it found that Defendant Gerth had the right to farm the land. Defendants answered with a general denial; counterclaimed for damages for emotional distress; and demanded a jury trial on all fact issues alleged in the complaint and counterclaim. Plaintiffs then amended their complaint, adding a third count which alleged that Defendant Paulson was equitably estopped from denying the contract. Plaintiffs also moved that defendants’ demand for a jury trial be stricken, this motion was denied. A trial by jury was held, the trial court instructed the jury on equitable estoppel and entered a judgment for plaintiffs based on the jury verdict. The trial court did not, however, enter findings and conclusions on the issue of estoppel.
In a unanimous opinion, we stated in Orr that a jury may not decide legal or equitable issues in a declaratory judgment action. Speaking of equitable issues, Orr stated:
Article VI, § 6 of the South Dakota Constitution mandates that a party be given a jury trial as a matter of right if the action is one at law. Equity actions, on the other hand, are not triable of right by a jury. It is generally recognized, however, that declaratory judgment actions are neutral and may involve either equitable claims or legal claims or both. The court must look to the pleadings as a whole and the relief requested to determine the character of the claim. * * * A determination with regard to constitutionality is within the jurisdiction of a court of law rather than a court of equity. Consequently, in the instant case, the equity powers of the court were not invoked and the jury verdicts cannot be considered advisory, since advisory juries are available only in actions which sound in equity.
Id. at 485 (citations omitted). Orr is thus implicit that on equitable issues a jury’s verdict is advisory only, which is the settled law in this state.
While Orr did not find equitable issues, it did find legal issues requiring a remand for findings and conclusions. While I agree with the majority that this case must be remanded because of erroneous jury instructions, to be consistent with Orr this case must likewise be remanded with directions for the trial court to enter findings and conclusions on the issue of estoppel.