Court Opinion

ID: 9739721
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:20:08.367052+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:13.649004
License: Public Domain

SABERS, Justice
(concurring in result).
I concur in the result of an affirmance but I do so on the merits rather than on procedure.
1. Procedure or Standing.
I disagree with Circuit Judge Hurd’s opinion on standing because this is a public matter. These funds are sufficiently public and Plaintiffs’ right to challenge the disposition of same was sufficiently public. As this court stated in 1937, “[i]t has become the settled law of this state that a taxpayer need not have a special interest in an action or proceedings nor suffer special injury to himself to entitle him to institute an action to protect public rights.” State ex rel. Jensen v. Kelly, 65 S.D. 345, 347, 274 N.W. 319, 321 (1937) (citations omitted). See generally Kanaly v. State, 368 N.W.2d 819 (S.D.1985) (ownership, special interest, or injury is not a prerequisite to litigate a case involving public funds).1
2. Consideration.
According to Susan Walker’s Affidavit, when a lottery ticket is issued, the price of *598the ticket is automatically charged to the retailer’s account. If a ticket is produced by a retailer as a result of anything other than terminal or computer error, such as clerk error, payment for the ticket is the financial responsibility of the retailer and he does not receive a refund or adjustment.
“It is elementary that a promise to pay constitutes consideration.” State v. Murphy, 74 S.D. 21, 23, 48 N.W.2d 225, 226 (1951). Therefore, Plaintiffs lose on the merits because Mr. G’s was immediately liable for the $5.00, which exposed them to the risk of losing same and provided the consideration needed.2
WUEST, J., joins this special writing.

. See also Farris v. Munro, 99 Wash.2d 326, 662 P.2d 821 (1983) (where issue is a matter of continuing and substantial interest and presents a question of public nature likely to recur, and it is desirable to provide authority for future guidance, court should reach substantive issue presented although petitioner lacked standing to challenge constitutionality of the State Lottery Act) (standing questions in suits not involving taxpayers should be analyzed in terms of the public interests presented). “Where a controversy is of serious public importance and immediately affects substantial segments of the population and its outcome will have a direct bearing on the commerce, finance, labor, industry or agriculture generally, questions of standing to maintain an action should be given less rigid and more liberal answer.” Id. 662 P.2d at 824 (citations omitted).

. SDCL 53-6-3. Instrument as evidence of consideration. A written instrument is presumptive evidence of a consideration.
SDCL 53-6-1. Good consideration, acts constituting. Any benefit conferred or agreed to be conferred upon the promiser by any other person to which the promiser is not lawfully enti-tied, or any prejudice suffered or agreed to be suffered by such person, other than such as he is at the time of consent lawfully bound to suffer as an inducement to the promiser, is good consideration for a promise.