Court Opinion

ID: 9734838
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:47:46.773367+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:51.570625
License: Public Domain

MORGAN, Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent because the appellant lacks standing on appeal to challenge the decision of the trial court. This is a jurisdictional issue that we can raise sua sponte. Long v. Knight Const. Co., Inc., 262 N.W.2d 207, 209 (S.D.1978).
I have no disagreement with the majority’s discussion or resolution of the constitutional issue, but I am personally opposed to the exercise of our rather awesome authority to declare a legislative act unconstitutional without a full briefing and argument. In this instance, no brief was filed to support the constitutionality of the statute. Moreover, we considered the case on our non-oral calendar. Although the State had notice of the appeal, it failed to appear. I am amazed at the failure of the Attorney General’s Office to fulfill what I consider a statutory duty to defend the legislation.
In SDCL 25-8-10, an action for support of a child may be maintained by the mother or by the public authorities, if the child is or is likely to be a public charge. In this case, the action was commenced not by the mother but by the Department of Social Services on the relation of the mother. At no point in the proceedings below did the mother move to intervene.
In Olesen v. Snyder, 249 N.W.2d 266, 269 (S.D.1976), this court said, “Section 3145 of the Revised Code of 1919 limited the right of appeal to a ‘party aggrieved.’ This language was deleted in § 33.0701, SDC 1939 (now SDCL 15-26-1); however, this court has held that the right of appeal remains so limited, (citation omitted) In addition, the ‘party aggrieved’ must have been a party at some stage to the action or proceeding below.”
The State’s commencement of the action on the relation of Ms. Wieber does not make her a party. Ex rel. means, “legal proceedings which are instituted by the attorney general (or other proper person) in the name and on behalf of the state, but on the information and at the instigation of an individual who has a private interest in the matter, are said to be taken ‘on these relations’ (ex relatione) of such person, who is called a relator.” Black’s Law Dictionary 522-3 (5th ed. 1979).
Thomas v. Miser, 49 S.D. 329, 207 N.W.58 (1926), minimized the importance of ex rel. in a paternity proceeding. There, the court permitted the child’s mother to appeal. The facts, however, indicate that the mother was a complainant and party of record. Thomas began as a state-prosecuted criminal action. Later, the mother initiated a civil action under the Uniform Illegitimacy Act. The county prosecutor then dismissed his criminal action and conducted the civil action for the mother. This is not the case with Ms. Wieber.
Although, in the instant case, Ms. Wieber did appear and the record reveals no objection to that appearance, the complaint alleges that Ms. Wieber had assigned “all right to any child support payments heretofore or hereafter due and payable by the defendant to and on behalf of the assignor [Wieber] or the defendant shown on the assignment . . . . ” The same paragraph also named the plaintiff as the Department of Social Services of the State of South *45Dakota. Finally, the relief prayed for in the complaint is for the reimbursement of ADC payments until the State is no longer fulfilling the defendant’s support obligation. Clearly, this complaint applies only to the State’s interest.
I would dismiss the appeal.
I am authorized to state that WOLL-MAN, Chief Justice, joins in this dissent.