Smith v. Albrecht

MORGAN, Justice.

This appeal is from a declaratory judgment action initiated pursuant to SDCL ch. 21-24 by a group of Meade County, South Dakota, residents and property owners (Smith). Smith requested a declaration that a road leading to the various plaintiffs’ properties had been dedicated and accepted for use as a public road; or in the alternative, that a prescriptive easement over the defendants’ (Albrecht) property had arisen in favor of Smith. The trial court declared that a public road existed and that there was no prescriptive easement. We reverse.

The disputed road is approximately…