Former S.D. Democratic leader sanctioned by federal judge

Long-running legal battle stems from ownership dispute over Brule County ranch

A federal judge has sanctioned the former head of the South Dakota Democratic Party for filing a lawsuit against the South Dakota Supreme Court and its justices.

The sanctions mean that Bret Healy will have to pay the attorney fees of the defendants in the case, which will be dismissed by Judge Roberto Lange when the defendants’ attorney fees are calculated.

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Healy, the former executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, has been engaged in a protracted legal battle against his mother, brothers and others concerning the fate of a 1,700-acre ranch in Brule County. Healy argues that his family defrauded him out of his true ownership stake in the ranch, stemming from a 1995 warranty deed that transferred the ownership of the ranch to a new entity that his mother and grandmother created.

Healy says he didn’t learn of the warranty deed until two decades later and that it undercut his 50 percent ownership in the ranch without his knowledge.

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