A release by the injured person of one joint tort-feasor, whether before or after judgment, does not discharge the other tort-feasors unless the release so provides; but reduces the claim against the other tort-feasors in the amount of the consideration paid for the release, or in any amount or proportion by which the release provides that the total claim shall be reduced, if greater than the consideration paid.
S.D. Codified Laws § 15-8-17
Joint tort-feasor not discharged by release of another--Claim reduced by amount stated in release
Applied in 14 court decisions — leading case Bego v. Gordon (1987)
Most recently applied in Fluth v. Schoenfelder Constr., Inc. (August 2018)
Source: SL 1945, ch 167, § 4; SDC Supp 1960, § 33.04A05.
How often courts cite this section
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.
Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.