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Shon Sawyer
Plaintiff and Appellee
v. Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, an Iowa Mutual Property & Casualty Insurance Company
Defendant and Appellant

[2000 SD 144]
South Dakota Supreme Court
Appeal from the Circuit Court of
The First Judicial Circuit
Turner County, South Dakota

Hon. Kathleen K. Caldwell, Judge

Steven W. Sanford
Cadwell, Sanford, Deibert & Garry, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Attorneys for plaintiff and appellee

Mark D. O'Leary, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Attorneys for defendant and appellant

Argued September 19, 2000
Opinion Filed 11/21/2000

#21267, #21296
GILBERTSON, Justice
[¶1.] Defendant Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company (Farm Bureau) appeals from a jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff, Shon Sawyer (Sawyer). The jury awarded damages for breach of contract, bad faith, and punitive damages to Sawyer arising out of a dispute as to insurance coverage relating to the death of livestock. Farm Bureau also appeals an award of Sawyer’s attorney’s fees. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part.
FACTS AND PROCEDURE
[¶2.] Sawyer operates a cattle-feeding operation near Hurley, South Dakota. In June of 1995, Sawyer procured insurance from Farm Bureau through its agent, Kurtis Berndt, of Sioux Falls. This initial policy covered all his property except his livestock. In January of 1996, the policy was expanded to include livestock. The trial court found that Sawyer’s livestock coverage was designated as “Special Form

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South Dakota Law