Guardianship of Flyinghorse, Matter of, 16896

• Decision Date: 25 April 1990
• Docket Number: No. 16896,16896
• Citation: 456 N.W.2d 567
• Parties: In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF William FLYINGHORSE, An Incompetent Person. . Considered on Briefs
• Court: South Dakota Supreme Court

Page 567

456 N.W.2d 567

In the Matter of the GUARDIANSHIP OF William FLYINGHORSE, An

Incompetent Person.

No. 16896.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Considered on Briefs April 25, 1990.

Decided June 13, 1990.

Billy Joe Jones, Dakota Plains Legal Services, Fort Yates, N.D., for appellant

Flyinghorse.

Curtis Hanks, McIntosh, for appellee.

HENDERSON, Justice.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY/ISSUES

William Flyinghorse (Flyinghorse) appeals from a November 13, 1989 order denying his motion to dismiss the guardianship proceedings brought against him. A petition was granted requesting the circuit court to appoint a guardian over his person and estate. On October 2, 1989, an order appointing the First Interstate Bank of Sioux Falls as his corporate guardian was obtained. No official record was made of the guardianship proceedings. On Appeal, Flyinghorse alleges:

(1) That the circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this guardianship action involving an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe residing on the

Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation; and

(2) That Federal Law, 38 U.S.C. 3202, does not confer subject matter jurisdiction on state courts to appoint guardians for reservation Indians who receive Veterans Administration benefits.

We reverse.

FACTS

Flyinghorse is an eighty-nine (89) year old enrollee of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (Tribe). Flyinghorse is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, having fought in both World War I and World War II. He is the recipient of a monthly $2,100.00 pension check from the Veteran's Administration (VA).

Due to Flyinghorse's advanced age and declining health, he has been periodically hospitalized. On August 7, 1989, the family of Flyinghorse left him at the Five Counties Hospital and Nursing Home in Lemmon, South Dakota without making any arrangements for his care. On August 9, 1989, he was taken to the Veteran's Administration Hospital at Fort Meade, South Dakota for care and evaluation.

Flyinghorse was declared both physically and mentally incompetent by the psychiatrist and doctors at the Veteran's Administration Hospital and was authorized to have long-term care at the Fort Meade Facilities.

At the time of the hearing on the Petition for Guardianship, the VA had already assumed guardianship for Flyinghorse under 38 U.S.C. Sec. 3202 and made arrangements with the First Interstate Bank of Sioux Falls to be the corporate guardian of the estate of Flyinghorse.

On November 13, 1989, the circuit court denied Flyinghorse's Motion to Dismiss the Guardianship Petition and entered an order appointing the First Interstate Bank the corporate guardian over the estate of Flyinghorse.

DECISION

The circuit court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over this guardianship action. Subject matter jurisdiction is the authority to decide a particular type of dispute. See, State ex rel. Joseph v. Redwing, 429 N.W.2d 49 (S.D.1988). The test for determining whether a state court may assume jurisdiction over claims involving Indians was set forth in Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217, 79 S.Ct. 269, 3 L.Ed.2d 251 (1959): "The question has always been whether the state action [would infringe on the reservation Indians to make their own laws and be ruled by them]." Accord: Matter of Guardianship of Sasse, 363 N.W.2d 209 (S.D.1985).

In Sasse, this Court recognized that state courts lack the subject matter jurisdiction to appoint guardians and administer the estates of reservation Indians. The issue, in Sasse, was "whether the circuit court was without jurisdiction to appoint a guardian over the person and estate of Alice M. Sasse (an Indian residing on the Pine Ridge Reservation) and to thereafter supervise the guardianship." This Court concluded that jurisdiction was lacking under Williams v. Lee, 358 U.S. 217, 79 S.Ct. 269, 3 L.Ed.2d 251 (1959).

In the present case, Flyinghorse was domiciled on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation at all pertinent times. His estate, which consisted of his VA pension, was being received there and spent there. It appears from the petition of the VA office that the reason for filing the petition was the perception that Flyinghorse's family, who live on the reservation, were not properly caring for him and were not spending his money in his best...