A release by the injured person of one joint tort-feasor does not relieve him from liability to make contribution to another joint tort-feasor unless the release is given before the right of the other tort-feasor to secure a money judgment for contribution has accrued, and provides for a reduction, to the extent of the pro rata share of the released tort-feasor, of the injured person's damages recoverable against all the other tort-feasors.
S.D. Codified Laws § 15-8-18
Restrictions on discharge from contribution obligation by release given by injured party
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case Heidemann v. Rohl (1972)
Most recently applied in Fluth v. Schoenfelder Constr., Inc. (August 2018)
Source: SL 1945, ch 167, § 5; SDC Supp 1960, § 33.04A06.
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.