BearScan
Sign inScan your site

Website accessibility law in South Dakota

Last checked

Public accommodations may not deny access to services because of disability (SDCL 20-13-23). A customer must first file a charge with the Division of Human Rights. Only after a notice to answer issues can either side elect, within 20 days, to go to court instead (SDCL 20-13-35.1), where compensatory damages and an injunction are available. Attorney fees are only for housing matters, and punitive damages are not available for this section. On top of that, the federal ADA applies in South Dakota as everywhere: a business that loses or settles a website accessibility suit pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees.

The law

Minimum per violation
None set
Can a person sue for money?
Yes
Attorney's fees under state law
No
Other money remedies
  • compensatory damages in a civil action after election, SDCL 20-13-35.1
  • punitive damages NOT available for 20-13-23 (§ 20-13-35.1 lists only §§ 20-13-20 to 20-13-21.2, 20-13-23.4, 20-13-23.7, 20-13-26)
  • administrative: incidental compensation excluding pain and suffering, punitive or consequential damages, SDCL 20-13-42
Websites
We found no court decision applying South Dakota law to a website.

Verified against the official statute text, Oct 7, 2026. A summary, not legal advice.

The federal baseline

ADA Title III gives a private plaintiff no money damages, but a business that loses or settles pays the plaintiff’s attorney’s fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). That fee-shifting is what makes a website claim expensive, in South Dakota and everywhere else.

Lawsuits in South Dakota

The lawsuit tracker has no indexed court records from South Dakota yet.

Compare every state

Questions

Can a business in South Dakota be sued over an inaccessible website?

Yes. The federal ADA applies in every state, and a plaintiff can sue in federal court for an order to fix the site plus attorney's fees. Under South Dakota law a person can sue the business directly. We found no court decision applying South Dakota law to a website.

What is the minimum a South Dakota court awards for a website accessibility violation?

South Dakota law sets no fixed minimum per violation. Public accommodations may not deny access to services because of disability (SDCL 20-13-23). A customer must first file a charge with the Division of Human Rights. Only after a notice to answer issues can either side elect, within 20 days, to go to court instead (SDCL 20-13-35.1), where compensatory damages and an injunction are available. Attorney fees are only for housing matters, and punitive damages are not available for this section.

Do I pay the plaintiff's lawyer if I lose or settle in South Dakota?

Under the federal ADA, yes: a business that loses or settles usually pays the plaintiff's attorney's fees (42 U.S.C. § 12205). South Dakota law itself doesn't add a fee award.

Which accessibility standard should a South Dakota business website meet?

The ADA doesn't name a technical standard for businesses. The Justice Department's 2022 guidance points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and its 2024 rule for state and local governments adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA.