Part VII: Judgment · Last amended 1978 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15-6-59 lists the grounds for a new trial, from jury misconduct and newly discovered evidence to excessive damages and legal error, sets a ten-day deadline to move and a twenty-day deadline for the court to rule, and lets the court order a new trial on its own initiative.
(a)Grounds for new trial. A new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues for any of the following causes:
(1)Irregularity in the proceedings of the court, jury, or adverse party or any order of the court or abuse of discretion by which either party was prevented from having a fair trial;
(2)Misconduct of the jury; and whenever any one or more of the jurors have been induced to assent to any general or special verdict or to a finding on any question submitted to them by the court, by a resort to the determination of chance, such misconduct may be proved by the affidavit of any one of the jurors;
(3)Accident or surprise which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against;
(4)Newly discovered evidence, material to the party making the application, which he could not with reasonable diligence have discovered and produced at the trial;
(5)Excessive or inadequate damages appearing to have been given under the influence of passion or prejudice;
(6)Insufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict or other decision or that it is against law;
(7)Error of law occurring at the trial; provided, that in the case of claim of error, admission, rejection of evidence, or instructions to the jury or failure of the court to make a finding or conclusion upon a material issue which had not been proposed or requested, it must be based upon an objection, offer of proof or a motion to strike. On a motion for a new trial in an action tried without a jury, the court may open the judgment if one has been entered, take additional testimony, amend findings of fact and conclusions of law or make new findings and conclusions, and direct the entry of a new judgment. When the motion be made for a cause mentioned in subparagraphs (1), (2), (3) or (4), it must be made upon affidavits attached to and made a part of the motion, unless as to a cause mentioned in subparagraph
(1), the irregularity or abuse of discretion is sufficiently disclosed by the record to support such motion. When the motion is made under subparagraph (6) it shall state the particulars wherein the evidence is claimed to be insufficient.
(b)Time for new trial motion. The motion for a new trial stating the grounds thereof shall be served and filed not later than ten days after the notice of entry of the judgment. The court shall make and file the order granting or denying such new trial within twenty days after the service and filing of such motion, unless for good cause shown, the court files an order within said twenty days extending the time for entering such order. If a motion for new trial has not been determined by the court and no order has been entered by the court extending the time for such ruling within twenty days from the date of service and filing of such motion, it shall be deemed denied.
(c)Hearing and answering affidavits. Upon the presentation of such motion the court shall by order fix the time and place for hearing thereof, and in such order shall fix the time for service thereof, and for answering said motion and for service of answering affidavits, if any.
(d)New trial on court’s initiative. Not later than ten days after entry of judgment the court of its own initiative may order a new trial for any reason for which it might have granted a new trial on motion of a party. After giving the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter, the court may grant a motion for a new trial, timely served, for a reason not stated in the motion. In either case, the court shall specify in the order the grounds therefor.
(e)Procedure upon hearing of motion. On the hearing reference may be had in all cases to the pleadings, orders, rulings and files of the court, and to depositions, documentary evidence, shorthand report, and transcript, if one has been made, and the court may take the testimony of witnesses as to causes enumerated in § 15-6-59(a)(1), (2), (3) and (4), which testimony may be reduced to writing and transcribed on the request of either party and filed in the office of the clerk as part of the record.
(f)When motion for new trial is not required as foundation for appeal. A motion for a new trial shall not be necessary as a prerequisite to obtain appellate review as to matters specified in § 15-6-59(a)(6) and (7), and all of such matters may be reviewed on an appeal from the judgment, regardless of whether a motion for a new trial has been made, provided such matter has been submitted to the trial court as prescribed in § 15-26A-8.
(g)Specification of grounds for order granting new trial. The trial court when granting a motion for new trial shall in its order specify each and every ground upon which it bases such order; all grounds urged upon such motion and not specified in the order shall be deemed to have been overruled by the trial court.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 15-6-59 gathers the traditional grounds for asking a South Dakota court to do the trial over. A new trial can rest on an irregularity in the proceedings or an abuse of discretion that kept a party from a fair trial; jury misconduct, including a verdict reached by a resort to chance, which can be proven by a juror’s own affidavit; accident or surprise that ordinary prudence could not have guarded against; newly discovered evidence that reasonable diligence could not have turned up in time for trial; excessive or inadequate damages driven by passion or prejudice; insufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict or decision; or an error of law at trial. For most of these grounds, the motion has to rest on affidavits attached to it, unless the irregularity or abuse of discretion is already clear from the record. In a case tried without a jury, the court has another option besides a full new trial: it can open the judgment, take additional testimony, amend or make new findings and conclusions, and enter a new judgment instead.
Timing is unforgiving. The motion, stating its grounds, has to be served and filed no later than ten days after notice of entry of judgment. The court then has twenty days after that filing to rule on it, though it can extend that window for good cause if it files an order doing so within the same twenty days. If the twenty days pass with no ruling and no extension order, the motion is deemed denied by operation of the rule itself — no separate order is needed to reject it.
The court is not limited to acting on a party’s motion. Within ten days of entry of judgment, it can order a new trial on its own initiative for any reason that would have supported granting one on a party’s motion. And after giving the parties notice and a chance to be heard, the court can grant a timely motion for a reason the moving party never raised. Either way, when a new trial is granted, the order has to specify every ground the court relied on — any ground the losing party argued but that the order does not mention is deemed overruled.
Two grounds get special treatment on appeal. A motion for a new trial is not a prerequisite for appellate review of insufficiency of the evidence or an error of law, so long as the issue was raised in the trial court the way chapter 15-26A requires; those points can reach the Supreme Court on a straight appeal from the judgment, whether or not a new trial motion was ever filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the grounds for a new trial in a South Dakota civil case?
Rule 15-6-59(a) lists seven: an irregularity or abuse of discretion preventing a fair trial, jury misconduct, accident or surprise ordinary prudence could not guard against, newly discovered evidence, excessive or inadequate damages from passion or prejudice, insufficiency of the evidence, and an error of law at trial.
How long do I have to file a motion for a new trial after judgment in South Dakota?
Rule 15-6-59(b) requires the motion, stating its grounds, to be served and filed no later than ten days after notice of entry of judgment.
What happens if a South Dakota court does not rule on a new trial motion within twenty days?
Rule 15-6-59(b) treats the motion as deemed denied if the court has not ruled within twenty days after the motion was served and filed, and has not filed an order extending that time within the same twenty days.
Can a South Dakota judge order a new trial without either party asking for one?
Yes. Rule 15-6-59(d) lets the court, on its own initiative, order a new trial within ten days of entry of judgment, for any reason that would have supported granting one on a party’s motion.
Do I have to file a motion for a new trial to appeal on insufficiency of the evidence in South Dakota?
No. Rule 15-6-59(f) states that a motion for a new trial is not necessary to obtain appellate review of insufficiency of the evidence or an error of law, as long as the matter was submitted to the trial court as chapter 15-26A prescribes.
Amendment History
(a)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 33.1605, 33.1606; SD RCP, Rule 59 (a), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; SL 1978, ch 178, § 568.
(b)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §§ 33.1606, 33.1608, 33.1610; SD RCP, Rule 59 (b), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; Supreme Court Rule 76-3, § 16; Supreme Court Rule 82-32.
(c)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1606; SD RCP, Rule 59 (c), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966.
(d)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1609; SD RCP, Rule 59 (d), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966; as amended by Sup. Ct. Order No. 2, March 31, 1969, effective July 1, 1969.
(e)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1606; SD RCP, Rule 59 (e), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966.
(f)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1607; SD RCP, Rule 59 (f), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966.
(g)SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, § 33.1611; SD RCP, Rule 59 (g), as adopted by Sup. Ct. Order March 29, 1966, effective July 1, 1966.
Source & verification. Rule text and History are
reproduced verbatim from the South Dakota Codified Laws, published by the
South Dakota Legislative Research Council. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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