Unless the parties have agreed to engage in alternative dispute resolution or are required to do so by contract or statute, the court may not, by order or local rule, require the parties to engage in a settlement conference or any other form of alternative dispute resolution.
Rule 76.Settlement conference — Alternative dispute resolution.
Part IX: Expedited Civil Actions · Last amended 2016 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15-6-76 blocks a South Dakota court from ordering parties into a settlement conference or other alternative dispute resolution in an expedited civil action unless the parties agreed to it themselves or a contract or statute already requires it.
Full Text of Rule 15-6-76
Plain-English Summary
Rule 15-6-76 sets a default limit on how far a court can push settlement machinery in an expedited civil action. Unless the parties have agreed to engage in alternative dispute resolution, or are required to do so by contract or statute, the court may not, by order or local rule, require them to engage in a settlement conference or any other form of alternative dispute resolution.
The rule leaves room for the same result to arrive through a different path. If a contract already contains a mediation or other alternative-dispute-resolution clause, or a statute already imposes that requirement, that obligation still applies. What the rule forecloses is a court adding a mandatory settlement step on its own initiative when neither the parties’ agreement nor an existing statute called for one.
Nothing in the rule stops parties from choosing a settlement conference or other alternative dispute resolution voluntarily. It restricts only what a court can impose by order or local rule, leaving that choice with the parties themselves in a proceeding already built around a short discovery period and a firm trial date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a South Dakota judge order the parties into mediation in an expedited civil action?
Not on the court’s own initiative. Rule 15-6-76 bars a court from requiring a settlement conference or other alternative dispute resolution by order or local rule, unless the parties agreed to it or a contract or statute already requires it.
If my contract already has a mediation clause, does this rule override it?
No. Rule 15-6-76 does not disturb a requirement to engage in alternative dispute resolution that comes from a contract or statute; it limits only what a court can impose beyond that.
Can parties agree to a settlement conference even though the court cannot order one?
Yes. Rule 15-6-76 restricts court-ordered alternative dispute resolution; it does not stop parties from agreeing to a settlement conference on their own.
Does a local court rule requiring settlement conferences apply to expedited civil actions?
Not unless the parties agreed to it or a contract or statute requires it. Rule 15-6-76 says the court may not impose that requirement by order or local rule outside those two exceptions.
Why would South Dakota limit a court’s power to require alternative dispute resolution in these cases?
Rule 15-6-76 does not state a reason in its text, but expedited civil actions already run on a compressed discovery period and a firm trial date, and the rule keeps participation in alternative dispute resolution a matter of party or statutory choice rather than an added court-imposed step.
Amendment History
—SL 2016, ch 238 (SCR 15-16), effective January 1, 2016.
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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