The rule of the common law that statutes in derogation thereof are to be strictly construed has no application to the code of laws enacted by § 2-16-13. Such code establishes the law of this state respecting the subjects to which it relates and its provisions and all proceedings under it are to be liberally construed with a view to effect its objects and to promote justice.
S.D. Codified Laws § 2-14-12
Statutes in derogation of common law--Liberal construction
Applied in 25 court decisions — leading case Walz v. City of Hudson (1982)
Most recently applied in In Re the Expungement of the Record Concerning Taliaferro (November 2014)
Source: SDC 1939, § 65.0202 (1).
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.