August 28, 1981

Senator Richard O. Gregerson 
Eleventh District 
Minnehaha County 
310 South First Avenue 
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57102

Official Opinion No. 81-31

Sheriffs Fees for Serving Multiple Documents

Dear Senator Gregerson:

You have requested an official opinion from this office based on the following factual situation:

FACTS: 

I introduced a bill during the 1981 Session to amend SDCL 7-12-18 relating to fees charged by sheriffs.  The fees for serving a summons, complaint, etc., were raised from $3.00 to $10.50.  It has now come to my attention that in some instances the sheriff is charging for each individual document.  For example, the fee for service of a summons and complaint would be $21.00.  The fee in a divorce action would be $42.00 when a summons, complaint and affidavit and order to show cause are served.

Based on the above facts you ask the following question:

QUESTION: 

I request an Attorney General's opinion regarding interpretation of SDCL 7-12-18(4) where more than one document is served at the same time.

SDCL 7-12-18(4) showing the amendments by overstrike (deletions) and underline (additions) reads as follows: 

7-12-8.  The sheriff is entitled to charge the following fees and traveling expenses:  . . . 

(4)  For serving summons, complaint, warrant of attachment, affidavit,  notice and undertaking in claim and delivery, or injunction, order to show cause, citation, or other process, and return thereof, ten dollars and fifty cents and for each additional defendant, four dollars; . . .

In response, it is my opinion that the statute authorizes the sheriff to charge $10.50 for each individual document.  I say this because subdivision (4) reads entirely in the disjunctive rather than the conjunctive.  In addition, the previous interpretation was a three dollar charge for each individual document and the only amendment was to the amount of the fee and not to the act performed to require the fee.

Note that the $10.50 fee is not a mandatory fee.  The fee may be in any amount not to exceed $10.50.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark V. Meierhenry
Attorney General