Minnesota Supreme Court Decisions 2014
Date: December 31, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2117
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the governing board of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center notified the hospital’s medical staff that it had approved the repeal of the medical staff bylaws and replaced them with revised bylaws. Avera…
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: A14-316
Date: December 24, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: December 17, 2014
Docket Number: A13-124
Justia Opinion Summary: During a hail storm, all twenty of the townhome buildings managed by Cedar Bluff Townhome Condominium Association (Cedar Bluff) were damaged, with at least one siding panel on each building sustaining damage. Cedar Bluff…
Date: December 3, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2141
Justia Opinion Summary: Minn. Stat. 176.081(1)(a) requires employers and insurers to pay attorney fees calculated by a statutory formula not subject to judicial review. In this case, Respondent injured his back while working for Employer.…
Date: November 26, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: November 19, 2014
Docket Number: A14-171
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Petitioner was convicted of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction.…
Date: November 19, 2014
Docket Number: A14-211
Date: November 12, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1101
Date: October 29, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM10-8008, C5-84-2139
Date: October 22, 2014
Docket Number: A12-993
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree aggravated robbery and third-degree assault. Appellant appealed, contending that he was entitled to a new trial because a jury instruction on…
Date: October 22, 2014
Docket Number: A13-186
Justia Opinion Summary: An Insurer issued a life insurance policy to an Insured. After the Insured died, the Insurer refused to pay the death benefit to Plaintiff, the Insured’s widow, and rescinded the life insurance policy based on its…
Date: October 22, 2014
Docket Number: A13-997
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct in return for the State recommending the presumptive sentence under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines - twelve years executed. After a sentencing…
Date: October 22, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Numbers: A12-173, A13-996
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of first-degree premeditated murder and two counts of first-degree felony murder. The Supreme Court consolidated Appellant’s direct appeal and his postconviction…
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1944
Justia Opinion Summary: After Sining Mao left his employment with Seagate Technology, LLC, Mao joined Seagate’s competitor, Western Digital Corporation. Seagate subsequently commenced a district court action alleging that Mao stole Seagate’s…
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1856
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: A14-1548
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Number: A14-1551
Date: October 8, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM10-8049, C1-84-2137
Date: October 1, 2014
Docket Number: ADM10-8043
Date: October 1, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: September 24, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2301
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for the benefit of a gang and related offenses and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. In his third petition for postconviction…
Date: September 24, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1494
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a bench trial, Appellant was convicted of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of release. The Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: September 24, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: September 17, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2179
Justia Opinion Summary: A court-appointed guardian had the power to consent to necessary medical treatment for a ward under Minn. Stat. 524.5-313(c)(4)(k). Although all parties agreed that it was in the ward’s best interests to remove him from…
Date: September 17, 2014
Docket Number: A14-1281
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1575
Justia Opinion Summary: Alice Staab sued Diocese of St. Cloud for negligence. The jury awarded compensatory damages of $224,200, attributing fifty percent of the negligence that caused Alice’s injuries to the Diocese and fifty percent to…
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Numbers: A12-1978, A12-2015
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Number: A13-121
Justia Opinion Summary: An airport police narcotics investigator removed a package, which was addressed to Defendant, from a conveyor belt at the UPS mail area at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and placed the package on the…
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1820
Justia Opinion Summary: Minn. Stat. 260C.301(1)(b)(4) provides that parents who previously have had their parental rights to children involuntarily terminated are presumed to be palpably unfit to parent other children. In this case, a few weeks…
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Number: A14-254
Justia Opinion Summary: LumiData, Inc. is a software company that sells a software program called SOLYS to retail suppliers. Between 2005 and 2008, LumiData did not file Minnesota sales tax returns or pay sales tax on its SOLYS sales. The…
Date: September 10, 2014
Docket Number: A14-312
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, first-degree murder while committing domestic abuse. The district court accepted Appellant’s guilty plea, convicted him, and sentenced him to life imprisonment with the…
Date: September 3, 2014
Docket Numbers: A12-1978, A12-2015
Date: September 3, 2014
Docket Number: A14-435
Date: August 27, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2078
Justia Opinion Summary: Minn. Stat. 504B.177 generally places a limitation on late fees for residential housing tenants at eight percent of the overdue rent payment. In this case, Respondent, a tenant living in federally subsidized housing,…
Date: August 27, 2014
Docket Number: A12-709
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent filed a complaint against his former employer, U.S. Steel Corporation, alleging retaliatory-discharge and threat-to-discharge claims under the Workers’ Compensation Act. The district court granted U.S. Steel’s…
Date: August 27, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2065
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with third-degree assault. Defendant’s defense theory was that he acted in self-defense during a hallway confrontation with a non-resident of his apartment building. Before the case was submitted to…
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2110
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: A13-445
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was stopped by police officers while driving in a 2003 Chevy Tahoe on suspicion that he did not have a valid driver’s license. Appellant was subsequently issued a traffic citation. The officers proceeded to…
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: A13-610
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers followed a Chevrolet Monte Carlo that drove away from a house suspected of hosting drug trafficking. The officers subsequently stopped the vehicle after learning that the Monte Carlo’s registration had…
Date: August 20, 2014
Docket Number: A14-1106
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: A11-2319
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a complaint against Defendant charging him with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Defendant waived his right to a jury trial during a pretrial hearing. Thereafter, the State filed an…
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1409
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was injured in a work-related accident. Employee obtained approval for surgery from a union-sponsored benefit plan (the Fund) and proceeded with the surgery at a Hospital. After a hearing, a workers’…
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1611
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: A14-89
Justia Opinion Summary: Relator was injured while working for a School District. Relator eventually sought and was awarded permanent total disability (PTD) benefits. Relying on Minn. Stat. 176.101(4) and claiming that the statute authorizes an…
Date: August 13, 2014
Docket Number: A14-90
Justia Opinion Summary: Relator was injured while working for Employer. Relator began receiving workers’ compensation benefits in 2010. In 2012, Relator began receiving a retirement annuity from the Public Employees Retirement Association…
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2062
Justia Opinion Summary: The Chief Deputy of the Steele County Sheriff’s Office evaluated the performance of Respondent, a sergeant, and gave him a negative review. Respondent appealed the Sheriff’s decision with the Minnesota Department of…
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1241
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted for the first-degree premeditated murder of Devan Hawkinson. Appellant and Hawkinson were friends before Hawkinson was murdered. On appeal, Appellant argued that the district court erred by…
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1912
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Number: A13-742
Justia Opinion Summary: The question presented in this case was whether the plausibility standard announced in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal applies to civil pleadings in Minnesota state court. Defendant in this case…
Date: August 6, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM09-8008, ADM10-8002
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1868
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1984 and 1985, James Stevens injured both shoulders while working for S.T. Services and CNA Insurance Companies (collectively, S.T. Services). In 1994, Stevens and S.T. Services entered into a stipulation for…
Date: July 30, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2353
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting first-degree premeditated intentional murder. The district court sentenced Appellant to a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of release after thirty…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2307
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2320
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee filed an amended complaint seeking indemnity benefits and medical benefits from compensable injuries to his spine. Employee, however, decided not to pursue his indemnity claims at the compensation hearing. The…
Date: July 23, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: A11-2126
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1820
Date: July 16, 2014
Docket Number: A14-537
Date: July 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1257
Justia Opinion Summary: After Gordon Brown’s debt to Citizens State Bank Norwood Young America (Bank) became delinquent, Gordon petitioned to dissolve his twenty-three-year marriage to Judy Brown. The Browns executed a marital termination…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A11-1852
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant argued that he is entitled to a new trial because the court found that the judge who presided over his conviction and sentencing failed to reside in her judicial district from July 1, 2009, to September 30,…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1189
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of stalking and violating an order for protection. The district court imposed a sentence for each offense and ordered the two sentences to be served consecutively. The court held that Minn. Stat.…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1555
Justia Opinion Summary: The funds filed suit alleging that, among other things, the pharmacies engaged in fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive practices in connection with the sale of merchandise by failing to pass on the funds the entire…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1944
Justia Opinion Summary: Lyon filed a breach of contract action against Illinois Paper in federal district court, alleging that Illinois Paper had breached a contractual representation and warranty that all lease transactions presented to Lyon…
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2083
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A14-354
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A14-862
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A14-889
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: A14-924
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM04-8001, ADM09-8006, ADM09-8009, ADM10-8011, ADM10-8050, ADM10-8051, C4-84-2133, C4-85-1848, C4-94-1646, C6-84-2134, CX-89-1863, CX-89-1963
Date: July 2, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1978
Justia Opinion Summary: Sinuon and Lawrence Leiendecker, husband and wife, were involved in litigation with Asian Women United of Minnesota (AWUM), a nonprofit organization, for a decade. In this lawsuit, the fifth suit between the parties,the…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1968
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commissioner of Revenue notified JME of Monticello (JME), a waste management service provider, that it intended to audit JME’s waste management returns for a certain period. After the audit, JME was assessed…
Date: June 25, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: A14-273
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: A14-804
Date: June 18, 2014
Docket Number: ADM10-8041
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1959
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 1992, Appellant was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Appellant was fifteen years old at the time. Under a mandatory sentencing…
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: A13-491
Date: June 11, 2014
Docket Number: ADM05-8001
Date: June 4, 2014
Docket Number: A14-273
Date: June 4, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2270
Date: May 28, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: May 21, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1341
Justia Opinion Summary: After she was arrested for driving while impaired, Driver took a urine test, which revealed an alcohol concentration of twice the legal limit. Pursuant to the state’s implied consent law, Driver’s license was revoked.…
Date: May 21, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2169
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to a term of life imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed on appeal. After Appellant’s first petition for postconviction…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1548
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1791
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: A13-4
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction, holding (1)…
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Number: A14-661
Date: May 14, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM10-8003, CX-01-926
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: A12-956
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a delinquency petition charging Appellant, who was then fourteen years old, with first-degree felony murder (drive-by shooting), second-degree felony murder (drive-by shooting), and attempted first-degree…
Date: May 7, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: A10-2145
Justia Opinion Summary: James Bergstrom and Vanessa Rew dissolved their marriage in 2008. In 2002, 2007, and 2008, Rew obtained a series of one-year orders for protection (OFPs) against Bergstrom. In 2010, before the extended expiration date of…
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1856
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the State retained Covington & Burling, LLP (“Covington”) to represent it in a natural resource damages case against 3M Company (“3M”) involving the manufacture and disposal of perfluorochemicals, which are a…
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: A13-519
Date: April 30, 2014
Docket Number: A14-20
Date: April 23, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1691
Justia Opinion Summary: One day before Appellant was scheduled to be released from prison, where he served a sentenced imposed following a guilty plea to third-degree criminal sexual conduct, Sibley County filed a petition to have Appellant…
Date: April 23, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1610
Justia Opinion Summary: Interstate Traffic Signs, Inc. (“Interstate”) rented traffic control equipment to contractors working on road construction projects. Prior to April 2010, Interstate charged sales tax on the equipment rental charge but…
Date: April 23, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: A13-184
Date: April 16, 2014
Docket Number: A13-483
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Respondent was found guilty of first-degree murder while committing or attempting to commit criminal sexual conduct and first-degree premeditated murder. Respondent was a juvenile when he committed the crime.…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1347
Justia Opinion Summary: B.A.H. was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct under Minn. Stat. 609.342(1)(g) for acts he committed with his cousin, then age thirteen, when B.A.H. was age fourteen. After a bench trial on stipulated…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1421
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1615
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, owners of a dairy farm, sued Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association for stray voltage that allegedly injured their herd of dairy cows. The jury found that Wright-Hennepin had been negligent, had…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1721
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Paul Alan Brandon, a church volunteer who was an ordained Assemblies of God minister, sexually abused Plaintiff. In 2011, Plaintiff filed a negligence action against the Minnesota District Council of the…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2272
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff applied for a job within the Mounds View Police Department, which commenced a background investigation. Mounds View contacted the Minneapolis Police Department, where Plaintiff previously worked, and…
Date: April 9, 2014
Docket Number: A13-520
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1017
Justia Opinion Summary: The Minnesota Laborers Health and Welfare Fund (“the Funds”) filed a declaratory judgment action against Granite Re, Inc. seeking clarification of their right to payment on a surety bond. The district court granted…
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2012
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Respondents with first-degree burglary under Minn. Stat. 609.582 for breaking into a home and allegedly stealing a locked safe that contained a handgun. The district court dismissed the first-degree…
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2270
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered into a mortgage with Aegis Lending Corporation. The mortgage was later assigned to Pacifica L. Ninteen, and the servicing rights were eventually transferred to Vantium Capital, Inc. (“Acqura”). After…
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: A12-794
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of felony failure to pay child support. After Defendant filed his notice of appeal, the district court issued a warrant for Defendant’s arrest because Defendant failed to…
Date: April 2, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: A12-713
Justia Opinion Summary: John Gieseke, on behalf of Diversified Water Diversion, Inc., filed a complaint against IDCA, Inc., asserting claims for, inter alia, tortious interference with Diversified’s prospective economic advantage. The district…
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1303
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2242
Date: March 26, 2014
Docket Number: List
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: A11-987
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of aiding suicide in violation of Minn. Stat. 609.215(1), which makes it illegal to intentionally “advise, encourage, or assist another in taking the other’s own life.” Defendant had…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1405
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was charged by juvenile petition, as both a principal and an accomplice, with criminal sexual conduct and other crimes arising out of the rape of a fourteen-year-old girl. After a hearing, the juvenile court…
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1580
Date: March 19, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2242
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1324
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1986, the City of Duluth and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (the Band) entered into several agreements establishing a joint venture to operate gaming activities in Duluth. The agreements required that…
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A12-380
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1858
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A13-519
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A13-733
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A14-176
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Number: A14-20
Date: March 12, 2014
Docket Numbers: ADM09-8006, C4-84-2133
Date: March 6, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1872
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: A12-50
Justia Opinion Summary: Law enforcement officers stopped a truck driven by Thomas Anthony, a suspected drug dealer. Charles Lemert was a passenger in Anthony’s car. Officers ordered Lemert to get out of the truck and proceeded to conduct a pat…
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: A13-840
Justia Opinion Summary: After Scott Schuette, who was working as a police officer at the time, responded to an accident at the local high school he began experiencing mental health problems. Schuette was later diagnosed with post-traumatic…
Date: March 5, 2014
Docket Number: A13-901
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree while committing domestic abuse and with a past pattern of domestic abuse. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief, arguing, among other…
Date: February 19, 2014
Docket Number: A13-434
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commissioner of Revenue informed Sharon Soyka by a notice that it would file a tax return on her behalf for the 2008 tax year and asserting that Soyka owed $2,201 in income taxes, interest, and penalties. Exactly…
Date: February 12, 2014
Docket Number: A12-71
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of felony-level failure to provide care and support to his children due to his omission and failure to pay court-ordered child support. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction, concluding (1)…
Date: February 12, 2014
Docket Number: A12-859
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was injured when Hennepin County Sheriff’s Deputy Jason Lee Majeski’s emergency vehicle struck Respondent’s vehicle as Majeski was responding to an emergency call. Respondent commenced a personal injury…
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: A11-2164
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first-degree murder of a peace officer, four counts of first-degree assault, and other offenses connected with the shooting death of a county deputy sheriff officer. The…
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1719
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, a criminal defendant, successfully filed a motion to suppress, which the State appealed. The court of appeals reversed the order granting the motion to suppress. Defendant filed a motion for attorney fees,…
Date: February 5, 2014
Docket Number: A13-349
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Defendant subsequently filed two petitions for postconviction relief, both of which were denied. The instant appeal…
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: A13-2272
Date: January 29, 2014
Docket Number: A13-842
Date: January 22, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1971
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of several offenses, including first-degree felony murder. Appellant subsequently filed several petitions for postconviction relief. This appeal concerned the denial of…
Date: January 15, 2014
Docket Number: A12-2118
Justia Opinion Summary: After the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards issued a formal complaint against Judge George Perez, a former judge of the Minnesota Tax Court, a three-member fact-finding panel found that Judge Perez had violated the…
Date: January 15, 2014
Docket Number: A13-1699
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: A12-1872
Justia Opinion Summary: Law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to search Appellant and Appellant’s residence after Appellant allegedly threatened a woman for stealing his drugs. At the apartment the officers seized gun and drug evidence.…
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: A13-542
Date: January 8, 2014
Docket Number: ADM08-8004
Date: January 2, 2014
Docket Number: A11-1481
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant applied for unemployment benefits after she learned her temporary daytime position would be unavailable after the holiday season. Employer subsequently terminated Appellant from her position. Appellant filed an…
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