Minnesota Supreme Court Decisions 2019
Date: December 26, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0438
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Petitioner's third petition for postconviction relief, holding that Petitioner was conclusively entitled to no relief. Petitioner was…
Date: December 26, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0593
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief, holding that the claims raised in the petition were procedurally barred and that the…
Date: December 26, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0686
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, holding that Defendant's claim failed…
Date: December 18, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0655
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Saint Paul and dismissing Appellant's petition asserting that…
Date: December 11, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1171
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing this defamation action, holding that a corporate officer who did not author a defamatory statement…
Date: December 4, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0845
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellants' action seeking judicial review of a zoning variance granted by the Town of Duluth to…
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0143
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that, by the plain words of Minn. Stat. 604.02, a tortfeasor's liability to an injured employee is not reduced by the employer's fault. At issue…
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0353
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that the officer formed a reasonable, articulable suspicion to make the…
Date: November 27, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0584
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) ruling that Minn. Stat. 176.179 did not apply to Appellant's vacated workers' compensation award, holding that no mistaken…
Date: November 13, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0335
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of first-degree manslaughter, holding that the plain language of the first-degree manslaughter statute, Minn. Stat.…
Date: November 6, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1740
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case against two for-profit universities (the Schools) alleging that the Schools violated the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act (MCFA), Minn. Stat. 325F.69, and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), Minn.…
Date: November 6, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1485
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree felony murder, first-degree aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person related to a fatal shooting, holding that the district…
Date: October 30, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1242
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. 51-60, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's use of the federal post judgment…
Date: October 16, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0121
Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court deducting from a damages award to Respondent the amount of discounts negotiated…
Date: October 16, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0916
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court directing the City of Saint Paul to put a referendum question regarding the City's ordinance that established organized waste collection in the City on the…
Date: October 9, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0398
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to the City of Brainerd after the City restructured its fire department and…
Date: October 2, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1705
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court's decision denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief asserting the invalidity of a test-refusal conviction under…
Date: October 2, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0223
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the district court's decision awarding Mother and Father joint physical custody and equal parenting time, holding that the district court did not…
Date: September 25, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1608
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's dismissal of Appellants' complaint against U.S. Bank on statute of limitations grounds, holding that Appellants' breach of…
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1135
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS) determining that Appellant was permanently disqualified from working in…
Date: September 18, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1821
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision reversing the order of the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry for Baywood Home Care to pay unpaid overtime wages and liquidated damages, holding…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0538
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court granting judgment as a matter of law to Lycoming Engines on Mark Kedrowski's claim that a defective fuel pump…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1895
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating as moot the district court's order granting Antwone Ford's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordering the Department of Corrections either…
Date: September 11, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0100
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court concluding that a receiver should bring a piercing-the-corporate-veil claim against the shareholders of the…
Date: September 4, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0167
Justia Opinion Summary: In this defamation action brought by Nathan McGuire, a public high school basketball head coach, against Julie Bowlin and three other defendants, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting…
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1325
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of knowingly failing to register as a predatory offender, holding that to convict a defendant of knowingly failing to…
Date: August 21, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0039
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's conviction of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and false imprisonment, holding that Defendant was not deprived of a fair trial when a detective testified about photographs that…
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0870
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction, holding that a body cavity search performed by forcing Defendant to be strapped down and sedated in order to undergo an…
Date: August 14, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0057
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's sentence on the basis that the district court had misapplied Minn. Sent. Guidelines 2.B.7.a, holding that the classification of a…
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1433
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the determination of the Commissioner of Human Services that Appellant committed maltreatment under the Maltreatment of Minors Act, Minn. Stat. 626.556, subd. 2(g), when a three-year-old child…
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1548
Date: August 7, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0003
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief, holding that the district court did not err in denying the petition without holding an evidentiary…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1182
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over Ford Motor Company in this products liability case, holding that the claims…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1635
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0133
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the tax court reaching a valuation for KCP Hastings, LLC's shopping mall, holding that the tax court erred in the assignment of value…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0366
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging two counts under the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act, Minn. Stat.…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1660
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Minnesota Tax Court holding that the Minnesota Legislature incorporated the federal "minimum base amount" limitation into Minnesota's research and development (R&D) tax…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1685
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) affirming a compensation judge's judgment finding that Alapati Noga, a former defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, who…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1740
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court holding that the Minnesota Legislature incorporated the federal "minimum base amount" limitation into Minnesota's research and development (R&D) tax credit…
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A18-2015
Date: July 31, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0298
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court construing Defendant's motion to correct his sentence as a motion for postconviction relief and summarily denying postconviction relief without holding an…
Date: July 28, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0205
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, holding that Defendant's allegations of error did not warrant reversal of his convictions. Specifically, the…
Date: July 19, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0199
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) reversing the judgment of the compensation judge dismissing Petitioner's claim petition seeking workers' compensation benefits…
Date: July 17, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1426
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court ordering Defendant to pay restitution for destruction of a cabin after a jury found him guilty of burglary but…
Date: July 17, 2019
Docket Numbers: A18-1678, A18-1679, A18-1681
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court dismissing petitions filed by Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust (the Trust) challenging Anoka County's assessment of the Trust's three parcels of land in the…
Date: July 17, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1805
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court affirming the conclusion of the Commissioner of Revenue that the sales tax exemption in Minn. Stat. 297A.68, subd. 5 for the purchase of capital equipment did not…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0377
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court suppressing the results of Defendant's blood test, holding that the limited right to counsel established in…
Date: July 10, 2019
Docket Number: A19-0059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the postconviction court summarily denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief arguing that counsel provided ineffective assistance and that an expert witness for the…
Date: July 3, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1800
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case filed by a bus driver who sought reimbursement for chiropractic services related to her work-related injury the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals to reinstate Plaintiff's…
Date: July 3, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0607
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of aiding and abetting first-degree murder, holding that any error in the proceedings below was harmless. Specifically, the Court held (1) the district court's admission…
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0998
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Appellants - Someplace Safe, Inc. an advocacy…
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1044
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction court denying Appellant's petition for postconviction relief without holding an evidentiary hearing, holding that the petition was untimely. Defendant was…
Date: June 26, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1116
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of first-degree felony murder, attempted first-degree felony murder, drive-by shooting (the underlying felony), and other offenses, holding that the evidence was…
Date: June 19, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0543
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's convictions for first-degree sexual conduct and domestic assault by strangulation, holding that Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01 subs. 1-1a does…
Date: June 19, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1161
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that two Minnesota statutes - Minn. Stat. 609.749, subd. 2(6), the stalking-by-mail provision, and Minn. Stat. 609.795, subd. 1(3), the…
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0609
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the district court's ruling that the admission of statements made by Defendant using a foreign language interpreter did not violate the…
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1250
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of an unemployment law judge upholding the determination of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that the…
Date: June 12, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1286
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held in this eviction action that, under the circumstances of this case, the retaliation defense was not available under Minn. Stat. 504B.441 but that the common law should recognize a defense when a…
Date: May 29, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1550
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) affirming in part and reversing in part the workers' compensation judge's determination that the…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1604
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Commissioner of Human Services determining that RS Eden, a supervised living facility where J.W. received treatment before voluntarily leaving and dying of a drug overdose…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0326
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court determining that Appellant was not entitled to custody credit against her Minnesota sentence for time spent in…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0881
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to strike for lack of probable cause count 3, domestic assault with intent to cause…
Date: May 22, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1574
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0136
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction of burglary in the first degree and criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree on the ground that the district court's…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0825
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree premeditated murder but reversed Defendant's conviction for second-degree intentional murder, holding that the district court improperly entered a…
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1330
Date: May 15, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1437
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the postconviction court summarily denying Appellant's claims for ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel without holding an evidentiary hearing, holding that…
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0474
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision affirming Defendant's conviction, holding (1) the forfeiture rule does not apply to a defendant's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence that is based on a…
Date: May 8, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1566
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Appellant's consecutive sentences, holding that consecutive sentences for Appellant's offenses were a departure for which the district court had…
Date: April 24, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0863
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to the State on Appellant's claims alleging false imprisonment and negligence, holding…
Date: April 24, 2019
Docket Number: A18-1131
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the conclusion of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals that the medical treatment parameters established under the Workers' Compensation Act do not apply when an employer contests its…
Date: April 17, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0555
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the lower courts that, as a matter of law, a hospitalist owed no duty of care to a patient seeking to be admitted because no physician-patient relationship had been…
Date: April 10, 2019
Docket Number: A16-1850
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court discharged the writ of certiorari sought by Guardian Energy and dismissed the appeal in this case, holding that the order appealed from was not a final order at the time Guardian petitioned for a writ…
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0201
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals dismissing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource's (DNR) appeal of an order of the Chippewa/Swift Joint Board of Commissioners (Board) reestablishing…
Date: April 3, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0994
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the post conviction court denying Appellant's motion to correct his sentence, holding that because Minn. Stat. 609.185 does not require a sentence of life imprisonment with the…
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0060
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Respondent on Appellant's complaint alleging that Respondent failed to engage in an interactive…
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1210
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the order of the district court vacating the order of the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that approved an annexation of certain property by…
Date: March 27, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1732
Justia Opinion Summary: In this family dispute over real estate ownership resulting in a land partition action the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's order finding Appellant in contempt…
Date: March 20, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0407
Justia Opinion Summary: In this first-degree murder case the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Appellant’s second and third petitions for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant was conclusively…
Date: March 20, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0986
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant’s first-degree burglary conviction, holding that the victim must be physically present during the burglary for a conviction under Minn.…
Date: March 20, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1362
Justia Opinion Summary: In this condemnation case, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s award of $168,009 in attorney fees to the landowner under the condemnation fee-shifting statute,…
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1083
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals ruling that Minnesota’s vehicle forfeiture statute, Minn. Stat. 169A.63, is unconstitutional as applied to Helen and Megan…
Date: March 13, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1463
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court determining that the physician-patient privilege covered a blood sample and granting Defendant’s motion to…
Date: March 7, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0710
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction for third-degree murder, holding that the third-degree murder statute, Minn. Stat. 609.195(a), does not require the State…
Date: March 6, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1611
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court finding for Tenant in the underlying eviction proceedings brought by Landlord and concluding that Landlord had…
Date: March 6, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0277
Date: February 27, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0141
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court denying the motion for summary judgment filed by the City of Minneapolis as to Plaintiff’s claims under the…
Date: February 27, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0481
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court’s denial of Appellant’s request for a jury instruction on the defense of voluntary intoxication, holding that Minn. State.…
Date: February 27, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0914
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the workers’ compensation court of appeals (WCCA) reversing the workers’ compensation judge’s dismissal of Respondent’s petition for temporary total disability (TTD) benefits…
Date: February 13, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1275
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s denial of the City of Richfield’s motion to vacate an arbitration award reinstating Nathan Kinsey, a police officer, after…
Date: February 13, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0034
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction court summarily denying Appellant’s present petition for postconviction relief, holding that the record conclusively established that Appellant was not…
Date: February 13, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0864
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the tax court concluding that the Commissioner of Revenue had overvalued Enbridge Energy, LP’s (EELP) pipeline system for 2013, 2014, and 2015 and issuing a new valuation for…
Date: February 6, 2019
Docket Number: A18-0083
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions but reversed his sentence for first-degree murder of an unborn child, holding that the plain language of Minn. Stat. 609.106 does not authorize a sentence of life…
Date: January 23, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0827
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court in this negligence case decided not to extend the doctrine of implied primary assumption of risk, which is a complete bar to tort liability, to recreational skiing and snowboarding, thus affirming the…
Date: January 23, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1066
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant, a Minneapolis bar, on Plaintiffs’ complaint pleading innkeeper-negligence…
Date: January 23, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1539
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing the portion of Appellants’ appeal arising out of orders denying their motions in limine because Appellants did not raise their objections in a…
Date: January 23, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1978
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to correct his sentence, holding that the two-tier conditional-release term contained in Minn.…
Date: January 16, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0331
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding Defendant’s conviction of simple robbery, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction. Defendant’s conviction arose from…
Date: January 9, 2019
Docket Number: A17-0525
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming Appellant’s conviction of felony domestic assault, holding that the evidence was sufficient to prove that Defendant and the victim were “persons…
Date: January 2, 2019
Docket Number: A17-1854
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of first-degree premeditated murder and sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of release, holding that, contrary to…
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