Court Opinion

ID: 9515308
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 22:55:39.952328+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:06:27.849999
License: Public Domain

GILBERTSON, Chief Justice,
(dissenting).
[¶ 73.] I respectfully dissent. In Setliff v. Akins, 2000 SD 124, 616 N.W.2d 878 (Setliff I), Justice Amundson and I would have held there was no cause of action for civil conspiracy against Akins by Setliff. As Justice Amundson noted in his dissent in Setliff I, the record in that case did not reflect an underlying tort claim sufficient to support Setliffs civil conspiracy action. Given that there was no conspiracy between Akins and Stewart in Setliff I, there can be no conspiracy in the instant case as there is no one with whom Stewart could have conspired. See United States v. Bell, 651 F.2d 1255, 1258 (8th Cir.1981) (citing United States v. Moss, 591 F.2d 428, 434 (8th Cir.1979) (holding an individual cannot be convicted of conspiracy with himself)). That being the case, there is no legal basis to uphold the verdict against Stewart.