Appellate Courts will begin transmitting all notices, orders, and opinions electronically.
Beginning no later than July 1, 2011, the appellate courts will send notices, orders, opinions, and correspondence related to pending cases to attorneys in those cases by e-mail rather than postal mail. All attorneys with pending appellate cases who have not already registered an e-mail address should do so immediately. Unrepresented parties with pending appellate cases may also participate in this e-notification system by registering an e-mail address. Please visit the Clerk of Appellate Courts page for instructions on how to register your e-mail address.
Opinion Policies
Minnesota Court of Appeals opinions are issued weekly and are available to the public at 10 a.m. CST/CDT every Monday.
On Wednesday of every week, the Court of Appeals will mail a notice that informs counsel, pro se parties, and court personnel associated with a case that an opinion will be released the following Monday. Opinions are available online or by visiting the Clerk of Appellate Courts, 305 Minnesota Judicial Center, 25 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, after the Monday release time. Copies of the opinions are mailed to involved parties on Mondays.
In certain time-sensitive cases, the Court of Appeals may issue opinions on a business day other than Monday. In these instances, involved parties will be contacted just prior to the special release.
Please visit the Minnesota State Law Library's Appellate Opinions Archive for previously released Court of Appeals Opinions.
Published Opinions
By statute, the Court of Appeals issues a published opinion only in the most important and complex cases. Published opinions include an extensive analysis of the facts and law. They will be considered and used by courts faced with similar issues in the future, and they are published in books found in most law libraries.
DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
FILED Monday, April 22, 2024
A23-1080 Shaira Mattingly, Appellant, vs. American Family Insurance, Defendant, Kathleen Plasch, Respondent.
Washington County District Court, Hon. Juanita C. Freeman
A plaintiff asserting a personal-injury claim based on the allegedly tortious conduct of a deceased person must sue the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, as authorized by Minnesota Statutes section 573.01 (Supp. 2023). A plaintiff does not properly commence such a personal-injury action by suing a person appointed trustee to pursue a wrongful-death claim for the benefit of the deceased person’s surviving spouse and next of kin pursuant to Minnesota Statutes section 573.02, subdivision 3 (2022).
Affirmed. Judge Matthew E. Johnson
A23-1024 City of Eden Prairie, Respondent, vs. Travis R. Serafin, Relator, Public Employees Retirement Association, Respondent.
Office of Administrative Hearings
An administrative-law judge does not have the statutory authority under Minn. Stat.
§ 299A.465, subd. 1(b) (2022), to decide whether an individual has contractually waived a claim to continued health-insurance coverage.
Reversed. Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
Unpublished Opinions
Unpublished opinions are issued in cases that are less complicated, that involve legal issues that have already been decided in published opinions, or that will affect only the parties to that particular case. These opinions are usually shorter, do not contain extensive discussion of the facts, and are not generally relied on by other courts to the same degree as published opinions.
NONPRECEDENTIAL OPINIONS
FILED Monday, April 22, 2024
Pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 136.01, subd. 1 (c)
1.
A23-1899
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Marquis Deonte Gardner, Defendant, Midwest Bonding, LLC, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Renee L. Worke.
Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Michael E. Burns.
2.
A23-0837
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. David Powers, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Renee L. Worke.
Concurring, Judge Jennifer Frisch, and Judge Theodora K. Gaitas.
Washington County District Court, Hon. Juanita C. Freeman.
3.
A22-0234
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. James Lockhart Lang, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Renee L. Worke.
Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Elizabeth V. Cutter.
4.
A23-0745
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Shawn Dione Davenport, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Matthew E. Johnson.
Dakota County District Court, Hon. Jamie L. Cork.
5.
A23-1258
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Ryan Emmett Moore, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
Pope County District Court, Hon. Melissa Listug.
6.
A23-1178
In the Matter of the Appeal of Rate Calculation for Community-University Health Care Center.
Reversed and remanded. Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
Minnesota Department of Human Services.
7.
A23-0912
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Shawn Eric Clement, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
Olmsted County District Court, Hon. Christina Kilbo Stevens
8.
A23-1109
Stockholm Township, Respondent, vs. Glenn A. Schmidt, et al., Appellants, Bancommunity Service Corporation, et al., Defendants.
Affirmed. Judge Tracy M. Smith.
Wright County District Court, Hon. Kari Willis.
9.
A23-1118
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Kenneth Bernard Lax, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
Ramsey County District Court, Hon. Kelly Olmstead.
10.
A23-0960
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, Inc., Appellant, vs. Joint Revocable Trust Agreement of John N. Charais and Sveindis Charais, et al.,
Respondents.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
Concurring, Judge Francis J. Connolly.
Beltrami County District Court, Hon. John G. Melbye.
11.
A23-1177
In the Matter of the Welfare of: A. A. S., Child.
Affirmed. Judge Randall J. Slieter.
Rice County District Court, Hon. Jeffrey M. Johnson
12.
A23-0399
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Jawan Contrail Carroll, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Jennifer Frisch.
Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Paul Scoggin.
13.
A22-1785
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Walter Pierre Thomas, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Jennifer Frisch.
Benton County District Court, Hon. Robert Raupp.
14.
A23-0616
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Jeffrey Scott Gunderson, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Theodora K. Gaitas.
Becker County District Court, Hon. Gretchen Thilmony.
15.
A23-0496
In the Matter of the Appeal by Primrose School of Arden Hills and Shoreview of the Order of License Revocation.
Affirmed. Judge Sarah Wheelock.
Minnesota Department of Human Services.
16.
A23-0901
Brad Hammerberg, as trustee for the Leonard J. and Margaret T. Schubert Irrevocable Trust, dated June 23, 2005, Respondent, vs. Minnesota
Department of Human Services, et al., Appellants.
Reversed. Judge Elise Larson.
Mille Lacs County District Court, Hon. Gail T. Kulick.
17.
A23-1809
In the Matter of the Welfare of the Child of: J. M. B. (Mth) and I. C. R. (Alleged Fth) and any Unknown Father, Parents.
Reversed. Judge Keala C. Ede.
Stearns County District Court, Hon. Matthew E. Engelking.
18.
A23-1454
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Bryant Jerome Stephenson, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Keala C. Ede.
Stearns County District Court, Hon. William J. Cashman .
19.
A23-1334
In the Matter of the Welfare of: C. J. C., Appellant.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Judge Roger M. Klaphake.*
Chisago County District Court, Hon. Jesse Seabrooks, II.
Special Release Opinion Filed April 17, 2024.
1.
A23-0860
In the Matter of the Appeal by Serenity Adult Day Center of the Order of License Revocation License No. 1094723 (Rule 223).
Affirmed. Judge Jonathan P. Schmidt.
Minnesota Department of Human Services.
* Retired judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, serving by appointment pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
Order Opinions
Cases that involve a few simple issues may be decided by order opinions, which include little discussion of the facts of the case and a brief analysis of the laws that are involved.
RECENT ORDER OPINIONS
April 22, 2024
1.
A23-1346
Hanna Ladin Voss, Respondent, vs. Marsha June Voss, Appellant.
Reversed. Judge Francis J. Connolly.
Goodhue County District Court, Hon. Douglas Bayley.
2 .
A23-1179
Bret William Smith, Appellant, vs. Robyn L. Johnson, Respondent Below, Terry Allen Johnson, Respondent.
Affirmed as modified; motion to supplement the record denied; motion to dismiss construed as untimely reply brief. Judge Theodora K. Gaitas.
Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Charlene Hatcher.
Special Release Opinions
NO SPECIAL RELEASE OPINIONS FILED
Opinion Sets
Opinion sets contain all published, unpublished, and order opinions. The sets are compressed into files that must be unpacked before opening them.
Opinion Sets For Opinions
Filed Monday, April 22, 2024
Opinion Set in a Zipped PDF Format
- Click the above link.
- Save the unzipped file to your computer.
- Choose the "Open" option on the Download Complete screen.
- Extract the files to a location of your choice.
- Open the extracted file.