Background
Steve and Monica Zirbel bought two noncontiguous parcels near Lake Alice in Deuel County that lacked access to a maintained road. They sought a statutory right-of-way across neighboring land under SDCL chapter 31-22 after unsuccessful negotiations with neighboring owners. County officials maintained that a section-line right-of-way serving the East Parcel had been vacated in 1959, although the Zirbels disputed that conclusion.
The Deuel County Commissioners selected access routes, assessed $270,647 in damages to affected landowners, and charged the Zirbels $29,799 for an appraisal. The circuit court reviewed the Board’s action for abuse of discretion, upheld the routes and damages, but ruled that the county—not the Zirbels—had to bear the appraisal expense.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court vacated the circuit court’s order and remanded for a trial de novo. A county commission’s decision under SDCL chapter 31-22 to establish access for an isolated tract and assess damages is quasi-judicial, the Court held, because it resolves a concrete dispute between identified landowners under existing law. The circuit court therefore erred by applying only abuse-of-discretion review.
The Court also directed the circuit court to hold an evidentiary hearing on whether the East Parcel’s section-line right-of-way was validly vacated. The Board bears the burden of proving vacation because a section-line highway is presumed to continue unless lawfully vacated or abandoned. The Court further held that the Board had authority to hire an appraiser and that appraisal costs may be chargeable to the isolated-tract owners if they were costs of laying out the route and assessing damages under SDCL 31-22-6.
Key Takeaways
- Statutory-access decisions under SDCL chapter 31-22 are quasi-judicial and receive a trial de novo on appeal.
- A purportedly vacated section-line right-of-way requires an evidentiary determination; an internal state’s attorney memorandum is not a substitute for one.
- An isolated-tract owner may be responsible for appraisal costs that are part of laying out access and assessing damages.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that landlocked-property access disputes receive full judicial reconsideration, rather than deferential review of a county commission’s decision. It also places the burden on the party asserting that a presumptive section-line highway was vacated.
For counties and landowners, the ruling recognizes appraisal expenses as potentially recoverable proceeding costs, while requiring factual findings tying those expenses to the statutory-access process.