21-3-3. Presumed damages for wrongful conversion of personal property--Presumptions conclusive when possession wrongful from beginning.The detriment caused by the wrongful conversion of personal property is presumed to be:(1)The value of the property at the time of the conversion, with the interest from that time;(2)Where the action has been prosecuted with reasonable diligence, the highest market value of the property at any time between the conversion and the verdict, without interest, at the option of the injured party;(3)A fair compensation for the time and money properly expended in pursuit of the property.Such presumptions cannot be repelled in favor of one whose possession was wrongful from the beginning by his subsequent application of the property to the benefit of the owner, without his consent. Source: CivC 1877, §§1970, 1971; SL 1885, ch 42, §1; CL 1887, §§4603, 4604; RCivC 1903, §§2315, 2316; RC 1919, §§1987, 1988; SDC 1939 & Supp 1960, §37.1910.
South Dakota Legal Code