In revising a written instrument, the court may inquire what the instrument was intended to mean, and what were intended to be its legal consequences, and is not confined to the inquiry what the language of the instrument was intended to be.
S.D. Codified Laws § 21-11-3
Intent considered in revising instrument--Court not restricted by language
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP v. Trancynger (2014)
Most recently applied in BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP v. Trancynger (April 2014)
Source: CivC 1877, § 2006; CL 1887, § 4639; RCivC 1903, § 2351; RC 1919, § 2022; Supreme Court Rule 562, 1939; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 37.0602.
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.