Great Western Bank v. H & E Enterprises, LLP

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court addressed whether a trial court determining the fair and reasonable value of mortgaged property under SDCL 21-47-16 must accept one of the competing expert valuations. The court held that the fact finder may weigh, accept, or reject expert testimony and is not bound to adopt either expert's opinion. Because the trial court applied an erroneous legal standard, the valuation ruling was reversed and remanded for a new hearing.

Holdings

1. A fact finder is not required to accept all or any part of an expert's opinion, and SDCL 21-47-16 does not require the court to accept one expert's valuation over another.
2. The valuation ruling must be reversed and remanded because the circuit court expressly determined the value under the erroneous premise that it was bound by expert testimony.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a court determining the fair and reasonable value of mortgaged property under SDCL 21-47-16 is bound to accept the valuation of one of the parties' experts.
2. Whether the circuit court's valuation ruling required reversal because it was made under the erroneous legal premise that the court could not determine a value between the competing expert valuations.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded