Minnesota Supreme Court Decisions 2023

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case heard by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, the defendant, Christian Portillo, was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. During the trial, the prosecutor elicited testimony from the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, a group of parents brought a class action lawsuit on behalf of their children, who were enrolled in Minneapolis and Saint Paul public schools. The parents claimed that the state of Minnesota violated their…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower courts to terminate a mother's parental rights due to her failure to appear for the final day of a multiple-day termination of parental rights trial. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that an individual can bring a private action under the Minnesota private attorney general statute to compel a healthcare provider to disclose that individual’s medical records as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree felony murder but reversed and vacated his conviction for second-degree murder, holding that it was error to convict Defendant of first-degree murder as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Minnesota Tax Court affirming the assessment of the Commissioner of Revenue assessing tax on an apportioned share of Cities Management, Inc.'s (CMI) income from the sale of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing Appellants' appeal of the dismissal of their petition for permanent third-party custody of their great niece, K.J., holding that the court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the final order of the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services' (DHS) concluding that Trinity had engaged in the abuse outlined in DHS's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court concluding that federal regulations implementing the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree intentional felony murder while committing burglary, holding that the State presented sufficient evidence to sustain Defendant's conviction. After a jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of one count of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person under Minn. Stat. 609.165, subd. 1b(a), holding that a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant in this defamation case, holding that before Plaintiff may recover…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of falsely reporting a crime to a police officer, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the determination of the district court that the underlying First Amendment retaliation claim brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983 was time-barred,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence found during a search of his vehicle, holding that the odor of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction, following a jury trial, of gross-misdemeanor indecent exposure, holding that an individually who willfully and lewdly exposes himself in the privately-owned,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence discovered in the vehicle that Defendant was driving, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant postconviction relief by ordering a substantive sentencing hearing, holding that, under the circumstances of this case, it would be…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of felony domestic assault-harm under Minn. Stat. 609.2242, subds. 1(2), 4, holding that there was no error in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court and court of appeals finding that a repurchase rate in a litigation financing agreement violated Minnesota's usury statute, Minn. Stat. 334.01, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, under Minnesota statutes in a condemnation proceeding, Blue Earth County did not owe just compensation to Landowners for the loss of a right to access to a newly constructed controlled-access…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court summarily denying Appellant's petition for postconviction relief without an evidentiary hearing, holding that Appellant was conclusively entitled to no relief…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the conclusions of the district court and court of appeals that Minn. Stat. 515B.2-118(b), a statute of limitations contained within the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, applied to bar…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the decision of the tax court that the taxable 2018 market value of a DoubleTree in Bloomington was $25,500,000, an amount that exceeded the valuations offered by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that an action taken by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in issuing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System permit was arbitrary and capricious and that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree premeditated murder and his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals denying Defendant's motion for a new trial, holding that the record was insufficient to determine whether Defendant's right to a public trial was violated…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress statements recorded on a body-worn…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder following a jury trial, holding that the district court erred in entering a conviction for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's second petition for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error. After a jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the determination of the court of appeals, but on different grounds, determining that two amendments to the grantor's trust were validly executed and that the district court had properly…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court ruling that an alternative residuary clause in a will devising half of the testator's estate to his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals upholding the district court's award of attorney fees based on conduct that occurred outside the context of litigation, holding that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case stemming from a dispute involving an insurance claim the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court dismissing, with prejudice, Plaintiff's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's action brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging that Minnesota's continuing predatory-offender registration…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to correct his sentence under Minn. R. Crim. P. 27.03, subd. 9, holding that Appellant's sentence of life imprisonment was mandated…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals dismissing an administrative appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction in the underlying case involving an air emissions permit issued by the Minnesota…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals determining that the juvenile court had subject-matter jurisdiction over this case, rejecting Father's statutory interpretation argument about the interplay…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of first-degree arson under Minn. Stat. 609.561, subd. 1, holding that the evidence provided at trial was sufficient to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Minnesota Tax Court reducing the Commissioner of Revenue's valuations of CenterPoint Energy Minnegasco's natural gas distribution pipeline system for January 2, 2018 through…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court declaring Appellant eligible to submit a petition seeking compensation based on exoneration under Minnesota's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals concluding that Minnesota Rule 8210.2450, subparts 2 and 3 (the rule) does not conflict with Minn. Stat. 203B.121 (the statute)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that an unconstitutional provision in a proposed charter amendment was not severable, holding that the provision was not severable from the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition for postconviction relief from his conviction for first-degree felony murder under an aiding and abetting theory of criminal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversed the judgment of the district court denying Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc.'s motion to vacate an arbitration award in favor of AFSCME Minnesota…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Appellant's unjust enrichment award, holding that the district court did not clearly err in its award to Appellant. Over the course of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Minnesota Tax Court, though its adjustments, increasing the market value of the real estate of the Minneapolis Hyatt Regency Hotel for the tax years 2016 through 2018,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, holding that the search of Defendant's purse was constitutional under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court to grant a harassment restraining order (HRO) against Appellant, holding that Appellant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court that Insured was not entitled to preaward interest from Insurer on an appraisal award based on Minn. Stat.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that the interpretation of a restrictive covenant was a question of fact for a jury, holding that because the evidence did not conclusively…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court refusing to send the underlying rent dispute to arbitration and resolving the claim itself, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Appellant's second petition for postconviction relief as time-barred because Appellant's postconviction claim failed to satisfy the newly…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of first-degree premeditated murder and attempted second-degree murder, holding that any error in the underlying proceedings was harmless. In its written findings of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the workers' compensation court of appeals (WCCA) affirming the findings and conclusions of the compensation judge determining that Employee was entitled to workers'…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the district court granting summary judgment ruling that the public's interest in an undeveloped road dedicated to public use by plat…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal arising out of the application of a provision of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act known as the "assault exception" the Supreme Court held that the assault exception applied and that Relator Deangelo…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the tax court declining to include a "concession fee" as rental income attributable to the properties in this case under the income-capitalization approach to property…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals in this criminal case and vacated both of Defendant's convictions for two marijuana-related fifth-degree controlled substance…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the restitution order issued by the district court in Defendant's criminal case, holding that Minn. Stat. 611A.045, subd. 3(a) imposes no burden…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this criminal case to the court of appeals for a decision on the merits, holding that the State can appeal the dismissal of the charges against Defendant under Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.04,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the opinion of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's convictions for driving after cancellation-inimical to public safety (DAC-IPS) based on the conclusion that Minn. Stat. 171.24, subd. 5…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's request for postconviction relief, holding that the State presented sufficient evidence to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals granting the petition for a writ of prohibition filed by the State prohibiting the district court from enforcing a "taint team" order, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Claimant was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits after the date on which he no longer had a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by a licensed professional using the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part Defendant's convictions for first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree assault-fear, holding that the district court committed reversible error when it…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing this lawsuit brought by Appellants seeking a declaration "that individuals are restored to civil rights and possess the fundamental right to vote…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals reversing in part and affirming in part the district court's grant of summary judgment for Defendant, a school district, in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the opinion of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court to allow a witness to testify using live, two-way remote view technology during a jury trial in the midst of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over Governor Walz's declaration of a peacetime emergency under the Emergency Management Act, Minn. Stat. 12.01-.61, and the executive order the Governor issued requiring that Minnesotans wear face…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint brought by patients (collectively, Patients) in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Defendant's second petition for postconviction relief, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it summarily denied Appellant's eighth petition for postconviction relief as untimely. Appellant was convicted of first-degree…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion under Minn. R. Civ. P. 60.02 to vacate the denial of his first postconviction petition and the district court's denial of his…