RAPID CITY, S.D. – A South Dakota circuit court has given the green light for residents of the Hideaway Hills development to sue individually.
The court this week denied the State of South Dakota’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of standing.
The means homeowners now have standing to sue the state for damages after an old underground gypsum mine collapse made all of the homes in the development nearly worthless.
The court said “the homeowners are constitutionally permitted to bring such a claim against the state.”
More than 160 homeowners represented by the Fitzgerald Law Firm of Rapid City can proceed with lawsuits individually.
Separately, a previous court decision gave class certification to around 158 homeowners to be represented by Texas-based law firm Fox Rothschild. This allowed these homeowners to collectively bring a class-action lawsuit against the state of South Dakota for the damage to their homes.
As of Tuesday, the Fitzgerald Law Firm represented 167 individuals. Another 32 are being represented in a separate suit by local firm Beardsley, Jensen & Lee. There are around 120 homes in the affected area.
It’s not known how many will remain in the class-action suit led by Fox Rothschild until homeowners have been given a chance to opt out. Homeowners cannot remain part of the class-action suit and also file individually.
