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S.D. Codified Laws § 1-26-36

Weight given to agency findings--Disposition of case--Grounds for reversal or modification--Findings and conclusions--Costs

Known as the South Dakota Administrative Procedures Act

The act spans §§ 1–1 (109 sections).

Applied in 295 court decisions — leading case Permann v. South Dakota Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Division (1987)

Most recently applied in McCook Lake Recreation Area v. Dakota Bay, LLC (September 2025)

Source: SL 1966, ch 159, § 15 (7); SL 1972, ch 8, § 29; SL 1977, ch 13, § 16; SL 1978, ch 13, § 10; SL 1978, ch 17; SL 1983, ch 6, § 2.

How often courts cite this section

1972198019902000201020202025150
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

The court shall give great weight to the findings made and inferences drawn by an agency on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;

(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;

(4) Affected by other error of law;

(5) Clearly erroneous in light of the entire evidence in the record; or

(6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

A court shall enter its own findings of fact and conclusions of law or may affirm the findings and conclusions entered by the agency as part of its judgment. The circuit court may award costs in the amount and manner specified in chapter 15-17.

Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.