REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . INTRODUCTION This matter is before the court on plaintiff Lance G. Owen's pro se amended complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. Now pending is defendants' motion for summary judgment. See Docket No. 43. Mr. Owen does not resist the motion. This matter has been referred to this magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(A) and (B) and the October 16, 2014, standing order of the Honorable Karen E. Schreier,...
OPINION AND ORDER ON PENDING MOTIONS AND AFFIRMING HEARING EXAMINER DECISION ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . Plaintiff Karen Artichoker brought this action against Defendant Todd County School District (School District) as an appeal from administrative proceedings before a Special Education Hearing Examiner for the State of South Dakota. Doc. 1. The hearing examiner ruled in favor of Artichoker on both issues considered, but Artichoker nonetheless brought this civil action under the...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION KAREN E. SCHREIER , UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE . Plaintiff, LaVae Schwalm, brought this lawsuit against defendant, TCF National Bank (TCF). TCF moves to compel arbitration and to dismiss the complaint. Docket 7. Schwalm objects to defendant's motions. Docket 9. For the reasons stated below, the court grants defendant's motion to compel arbitration. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The facts, viewed in the light most favorable to Schwalm, the non-moving...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER KAREN E. SCHREIER , UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE . Defendant The Hillshire Brands Company moves for an order to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim or, alternatively, moves to transfer venue to the Northern District of Iowa. Docket 4. Defendant Unlimited Freight, Inc., joins Hillshire's motion to transfer venue. Docket 11. Defendant AFN, LLC, moves to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. Docket 9. Plaintiff, Dakota Provisions, LLC,...
ORDER VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . This matter is before the court on movant Susan Marie Schrader's motion to vacate, set aside, or correct her sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2255. In her motion, Ms. Schrader makes a claim for relief based upon the allegedly ineffective assistance of counsel she received from her former defense counsel, Lorie D. Melone. See Docket 1. The United States of America (government) has requested an order directing former defense counsel to file an...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER AND GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART VARIOUS OTHER MOTIONS KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Terry L. Thompson, is an inmate at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls. Plaintiff filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, and amended his complaint. Defendants now move the court to enter a protective order staying discovery. Thompson also filed various motions. For the following reasons,...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . On December 16, 2016, this Court conducted a motion hearing on the pending motions in this case and explained how it intended to rule on certain motions. This opinion and order formalizes and explains this Court's ruling on the pending motion for partial summary judgment. Third-party plaintiff Jerry Ruba sued third-party defendant Bailey Ridge Partners, LLC (Bailey Ridge) for, among other...
ORDER KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Eric Stormo, filed this pro se lawsuit naming the City of Sioux Falls, R. Shawn Tornow, Dave Munson, Mike Huether, Pat Kneip, Doug Barthel, and John Doe as defendants. Defendants now move for summary judgment. Docket 186. Stormo filed a motion for summary judgment and numerous other motions. For the following reasons, defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part, Stormo's motions to compel...
OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING IN PART REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO SUPPRESS ROBERTO A. LANGE , UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE . Joseph Cordier moved to suppress statements he made to a law enforcement officer, arguing that the officer violated Miranda v. Arizona , 384 U.S. 436 , 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966) and that his statements were involuntary under the Fifth Amendment. The magistrate judge issued a report and recommendation recommending denying Cordier'...
PERMANENT INJUNCTION JEFFREY L. VIKEN , Chief District Judge . Incorporating the order of March 30, 2015 (Docket 150), the order of February 19, 2016 (Docket 217), the orders of December 15, 2016 (Dockets 301 and 302), and the declaratory judgment of December 15, 2016 (Docket 303), for good cause shown and pursuant to the court's inherent equitable authority, it is ORDERED that defendants Lisa Fleming, Mark Vargo and Lynne A. Valenti, in their official capacities, are hereby immediately...
DECLARATORY JUDGMENT JEFFREY L. VIKEN , Chief District Judge . Incorporating the order of March 30, 2015 (Docket 150), the order of February 19, 2016 (Docket 217), and the court's orders of December 15, 2016, (Dockets 301 and 302), for good cause shown and pursuant to the court's inherent equitable authority, the court enters the following declaratory judgment. IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act 1 and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , Chief District Judge . I. Preliminary Statement The defendants continue to disregard this court's March 30, 2015, partial summary judgment order. That order outlined the defendants' violations of the rights of Indian children, parents, custodians and tribes guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and by the Indian Child Welfare Act. Notwithstanding testimony confirming that South Dakota Circuit Court Judges in Meade County, Brown County,...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , CHIEF JUDGE . INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary judgment, together with supporting documentation, against Defendant Mark Vargo. (Dockets 261, 263 & 265). Defendant Vargo filed a motion to strike plaintiffs' motion. (Docket 268). Mr. Vargo also filed a responsive legal memorandum, with supporting documentation, in resistance to plaintiffs' motion. (Dockets 269-271). For the reasons stated below, defendant's motion to strike is denied and...
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION AND DISMISSING PETITION KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Petitioner, Jesus Salamo, filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The petition was assigned to United States Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy under 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B) and this court's October 16, 2014, standing order. On July 15, 2016, Magistrate Judge Duffy submitted her report and recommendation for disposition of this case to the...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO CONTACT JURORS ROBERTO A. LANGE , District Judge . This Court previously entered an Opinion and Order on Motion to Contact Jurors, Doc. 141, and repeats much of that ruling here in granting in part that motion. The jury in this case returned a verdict for Plaintiff Sioux Falls Kenworth, Inc. (Sioux Falls Kenworth) and against Defendant Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc. (Isuzu) on one count of violation of SDCL 32-6B-45 and awarded...
OPINION AND ORDER CHARLES B. KORNMANN , District Judge . Dakota Style Foods, Inc. ("Dakota Style") initially filed a complaint against SunOpta Grains and Foods, Inc. ("SunOpta") with the Third Judicial Circuit, County of Clark, South Dakota, alleging strict products liability, negligence, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, breach of the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, breach of express warranties, and breach of contract. For relief, Dakota Style is...
AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Pending before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Doc. 18. The Court has considered all filings and for the following reasons, Defendant's motion is denied. BACKGROUND In June of 2014, a hailstorm damaged numerous homes and other property in and around Sioux...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Pending before the Court is Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Doc. 18. The Court has considered all filings and for the following reasons, Defendant's motion is denied. BACKGROUND In June of 2014, a hailstorm damaged numerous homes and other property in and around Sioux Falls,...
ORDER ON MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION (Doc. 375) LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Appeal by Nachman Bergman was taken from Magistrate Judge Duffy's Order of August 16, 2016 recommending entry of a default judgment for Nachman Bergman making minimal effort to comply with Magistrate Duffy's Order of June 30, 2016. The June 30, 2016 Order had offered alternate sanctions for Nachman Bergman's failure to respond to discovery and being a no show for his May 23,2016 deposition for which he...
ORDER ON MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION (Doc. 245) LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . In a previous opinion this Court held that New York rather than New Jersey law applied to this dispute. The Court further held that the ten million dollar ($10,000,000) life insurance policy in question on the life of Nancy Bergman was a stranger-originated life insurance policy("STOLI") and when the policy was obtained in 2007, STOLIs were not prohibited under New York law. The New York legislature...
