Notwithstanding the provisions of these statutes, no person can recover a greater amount in damages for the breach of an obligation than he could have gained by the full performance thereof on both sides, except in the cases specified in statutes providing exemplary damages or penal damages, and in statutes relating to damages for breach of promise to marry, for seduction, or wrongful injuries to animals.
S.D. Codified Laws § 21-1-5
Damages for breach of obligation not to exceed gain from full performance--Exceptions
Applied in 20 court decisions — leading case Luke v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. (1972)
Most recently applied in Peska Properties, Inc. v. Northern Rental Corp. (June 2022)
Source: CivC 1877, § 1984; CL 1887, § 4617; RCivC 1903, § 2329; RC 1919, § 2001; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 37.1706.
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.