South Dakota Deceptive Trade Practices (SDCL 37-24)

South Dakota’s Deceptive Trade Practices and Consumer Protection statute — SDCL ch. 37-24, private action under § 37-24-31 for actual damages — is the consumer-protection overlay to the South Dakota Lemon Law. It is comparatively weak: actual damages only, with no treble, no general attorney-fee provision, and no per se lemon-law link.

What the DTPA adds beyond the lemon law

Element	Lemon law alone	Lemon law + DTPA
Refund / replacement	Yes	Yes
Lemon-law fees (§ 32-6D-8)	Yes	Yes
Actual damages	Limited	Yes (§ 37-24-31)
DTPA attorney fees	n/a	No general fee provision
Treble damages	No	No

Actual damages — but no treble, and no general fee provision

Section 37-24-31 lets a person adversely affected by a deceptive act recover actual damages. It carries no treble damages and no statutory minimum, and the chapter has no general attorney-fee provision for the private consumer action — the fee award at § 37-24-48 is limited to unsolicited-commercial-email claims, not ordinary deceptive-practice suits. So the DTPA’s leverage is bare actual damages, weaker than the discretionary trebles of Montana and Rhode Island, and far weaker than the automatic trebles of Delaware and Hawaii. Fee recovery comes instead from the lemon law (§ 32-6D-8) and Magnuson-Moss.

A heightened intent requirement

South Dakota’s deceptive-practice claim generally requires a knowing or intentional misrepresentation (or knowing concealment) made with intent that others rely — a higher scienter bar than UDAPs that reach merely “unfair” conduct. So the DTPA is best suited to clear misrepresentation cases, not ordinary warranty failures.

No per se lemon-law link

Unlike Delaware (§ 5009) or Montana (§ 61-4-533), South Dakota’s lemon law does not make a lemon-law violation a per se deceptive trade practice. So the DTPA stands on its own facts — typically dealer misrepresentation — rather than riding on the lemon-law violation.

When the DTPA matters most

• Dealer misrepresentation or knowing nondisclosure — undisclosed prior damage, hail/flood history, branded title, odometer issues.
• Cases where actual damages add to the lemon-law recovery (with fees coming from the lemon law and Magnuson-Moss).

Bottom line

South Dakota’s DTPA adds actual damages (§ 37-24-31) but no treble, no general fee provision, and no per se lemon-law link — a comparatively weak UDAP best used for clear misrepresentation. The lemon law’s own fees (§ 32-6D-8) and Magnuson-Moss are the primary leverage. See DTPA damages.

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