SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A South Dakota judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by opponents against the state on the location of a new men’s prison in Lincoln County.
In ruling issued Wednesday, Lincoln County 2nd Circuit Court Judge Jennifer D. Mammenga wrote in her opinion that the state (defendants) are immune from suit under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
The planned prison would be near 477th Avenue and 278th Street in Lincoln County between Harrisburg and Canton. The judge heard arguments on the case in January.
You can read the full ruling in the document attached below.
A lawsuit was filed against the South Dakota Department of Corrections, the state of South Dakota and DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko. The lawsuit claimed the state should have followed Lincoln County zoning ordinances when it chose the site for the planned new men’s prison between Harrisburg and Canton.
The lawsuit the state sought to have dismissed was filed by Michelle K. Jensen, Michael J. Hoffman, Jay W. White, Thomas M. Eiesland and the nonprofit NOPE, an organization opposed to the planned prison site.
Mammenga cited sovereign immunity in her ruling but also more specifically said that “Defendants’ selection of the proposed prison site is not subject to Lincoln County’s zoning laws and comprehensive plan,” when the general rule or the balances of interest test is reviewed and applied. When interests are undertaken, “this Court finds that the likely result will be that the necessity of the construction of a new prison outweighs the interests of surrounding landowners,” Mammenga said. Courts have applied that reasons in similar rulings.
Mammenga pointed out that plaintiffs Hoffman and Jensen have standing to sue, they can’t under the state’s immunity. Mammenga wrote that Hoffman and Jensen showed that planned prison would affect their property values.
But NOPE, the two other plaintiffs lacked standing, according to the judge.
Mammenga said NOPE “lack standing to sue the State in this matter.”
The judge said “NOPE is composed of hundreds of members residing in nearby townships and farming entities yet alleges no specific injuries other than general complaints about violations of Lincoln County zoning ordinances or displeasure as to the fact that a prison will be in this portion of the County. NOPE has failed to demonstrate that it will sustain any unique injuries as compared to the public in general.”
White and Eiseland did not have standing because their claims about harm to property would have required the Court to speculate as to what the injuries may be, Mammenga said.
The court’s decision is final as it was dismissed with prejudice.
Although the lawsuit was pending, the state and DOC continue to plan for the chosen site.
Documents for a meeting earlier this summer cited the DOC’s authority to spend $39 million on a design for the prison, $8 million for the land, $10 million for infrastructure and $5 million for commissioning services for a total of $62 million dedicated to contracts.
This is a developing story. Stay with KELOLAND News for more coverage online and on-air.
