SD Bar Specific Essay 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under South Dakota law, when a testator's will contains a specific bequest of 'my 2018 Ford truck' but the testator sold the truck before death, what doctrine applies?
- Ademption by extinction (Correct answer)
- Abatement
- Lapse doctrine
- Anti-lapse statute
Correct answer: Ademption by extinction
Ademption by extinction applies when a specifically bequeathed item no longer exists in the estate at the time of the testator's death.
Question 2: In a South Dakota negligence essay, which element requires the plaintiff to show the defendant's conduct fell below the standard of a reasonably prudent person?
- Causation
- Breach (Correct answer)
- Duty
- Damages
Correct answer: Breach
Breach is the element that measures the defendant's conduct against the objective reasonable person standard.
Question 3: South Dakota follows the Uniform Commercial Code. Under UCC Article 2, when does title to identified goods pass to the buyer absent an explicit agreement?
- When the contract is signed
- When the seller completes delivery obligations (Correct answer)
- When the buyer pays the purchase price
- When goods are manufactured
Correct answer: When the seller completes delivery obligations
Under UCC § 2-401, title passes at the time and place the seller completes performance with respect to physical delivery.
Question 4: In a South Dakota criminal law essay on burglary, which common law element was modified by modern South Dakota statutes?
- The requirement of breaking
- The requirement that the dwelling be of another
- The nighttime requirement (Correct answer)
- The intent to commit a felony therein
Correct answer: The nighttime requirement
Modern South Dakota burglary statutes eliminated the common law's nighttime requirement, making time of entry irrelevant.
Question 5: A South Dakota essay question involves a trust where the trustee invested all assets in a single volatile stock. Under the South Dakota Prudent Investor Act, the trustee has violated the duty of:
- Loyalty
- Impartiality
- Diversification (Correct answer)
- Disclosure
Correct answer: Diversification
The Prudent Investor Act imposes a duty to diversify trust investments unless the trustee reasonably determines that it is in the trust's interest not to do so.
Question 6: In a South Dakota contracts essay, a party claims promissory estoppel as an alternative to breach of contract. What must the promisee demonstrate?
- A written promise supported by consideration
- A clear and definite promise on which the promisee reasonably relied to their detriment (Correct answer)
- Mutual assent and capacity of both parties
- An implied-in-fact contract with objective terms
Correct answer: A clear and definite promise on which the promisee reasonably relied to their detriment
Promissory estoppel requires a clear promise, reasonable and foreseeable reliance, actual detriment, and enforcement necessary to avoid injustice.
Question 7: Under South Dakota real property law, a grantor conveys land 'to A for life, then to B and her heirs.' B dies before A. What happens to B's remainder interest?
- It is extinguished by the doctrine of merger
- It lapses and reverts to the grantor
- It passes through B's estate to her heirs or devisees (Correct answer)
- It accelerates and A takes in fee simple
Correct answer: It passes through B's estate to her heirs or devisees
A vested remainder in fee simple is descendible and devisable, so B's interest passes through her estate when she predeceases the life tenant.
SD Bar Specific Essay 2
Under South Dakota law, when a testator's will contains a specific bequest of 'my 2018 Ford truck' but the testator sold the truck before death, what doctrine applies?