This chapter governs all proceedings and actions brought after July 1, 1966, and also all further proceedings in actions then pending, except to the extent that in the opinion of the court its application in a particular action pending when the rules take effect would not be feasible, or would work injustice, in which event the procedure existing at the time the action was brought applies.
Rule 86.Effective date.
Part XI: General Provisions · Last amended 1966 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15-6-86 makes the chapter govern every action filed after July 1, 1966, and every further step in cases already pending then, unless applying the new procedure to a particular pending case would not be feasible or would work an injustice, in which case the older procedure controls instead.
Full Text of Rule 15-6-86
Plain-English Summary
Rule 15-6-86 is the transition rule that carried South Dakota practice into the new civil procedure chapter. As a general matter, the chapter governs all proceedings and actions brought after July 1, 1966, and also all further proceedings in actions that were already pending on that date.
The rule builds in a safety valve for cases caught mid-stream. To the extent that, in the court’s opinion, applying the chapter to a particular action pending when the rules took effect would not be feasible, or would work an injustice, the procedure that existed when the action was brought applies instead. That judgment call belongs to the court handling the case, based on the circumstances of that particular action.
For actions filed well after the 1966 transition, the rule’s practical effect is simple: the chapter governs by default, and the feasibility-and-injustice exception addressed only the cases already underway when the rules took effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did South Dakota’s Rules of Civil Procedure take effect?
Rule 15-6-86 states the chapter governs proceedings and actions brought after July 1, 1966.
Do the rules apply to a case that was already pending in July 1966?
Yes, generally. Rule 15-6-86 extends the chapter to all further proceedings in actions then pending, subject to the rule’s feasibility and injustice exception.
Is there an exception to applying the new rules to a case that was already underway in 1966?
Yes. Rule 15-6-86 provides that if applying the chapter to a particular pending action would not be feasible, or would work an injustice, in the court’s opinion, the procedure existing when the action was brought applies instead.
Who decides whether applying the new rules to an already-pending case would be unfair?
Rule 15-6-86 leaves that determination to the court handling the action, based on its opinion of feasibility and injustice in that particular case.
Does this rule still matter for cases filed in South Dakota long after 1966?
Its default coverage of actions brought after July 1, 1966 has applied to newly filed South Dakota civil actions ever since; the exception in Rule 15-6-86 addressed only cases already pending at that 1966 transition.
Amendment History
—SD RCP, Rule 86, 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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