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Court of Appeals Opinions

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Opinion Policies

Minnesota Court of Appeals opinions are issued weekly and are available to the public at 10:00 a.m. CST/CDT every Monday. When a Monday is a holiday, opinions are issued on Tuesday.   

On Wednesday of every week, the Court of Appeals will distribute a notice that informs counsel, self-represented (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.

In certain time-sensitive cases, the Court of Appeals may issue opinions on other business days.  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 and previously released Special Term Orders.
 

NOTE: If you are having trouble accessing the tabs on your mobile device, you may view all Opinions on a single page.

Precedential OpinionsBy statute, the Court of Appeals issues a precedential (formerly called "published") opinion only in the most important and complex cases. Precedential 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 of caselaw found in most law libraries.

DECISIONS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
FILED Monday, September 25, 2023


A23-0064             Minnesota Internship Center, Relator, vs. Minnesota Department of Education, Respondent.
                              Minnesota Department of Education.
1.             Minnesota Statutes section 127A.41, subdivision 3 (2022), when read in conjunction with Minnesota Statutes section 124E.16, subdivision 1(a) (2022), authorizes the commissioner of education to conduct audits of charter school records “for the purpose of verifying” pupil counts and state aid entitlements.
2.             The authority of the commissioner under section 127A.41, subdivision 3, to conduct audits and to order “increases or decreases” in state aid based on audit results is separate from and is not limited by the authority of the commissioner to “reduce or withhold” state aid for violations of law under Minnesota Statutes section 127A.42 (2022).
            Affirmed. Judge Jeanne M. Cochran.
Nonprecedential OpinionsNonprecedential opinions (formerly called "unpublished opinions") are issued in cases that are less complicated, that involve legal issues that have already been decided in precedential opinions, or that will affect only the parties to that particular case. These opinions are usually shorter than precedential opinions, do not contain extensive discussion of the facts, and are not generally relied on by other courts to the same degree as precedential opinions.

NONPRECEDENTIAL OPINIONS
FILED Monday, September 25, 2023

Pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 136.01, subd. 1 (c)


1.         A22-1796
            Pedro Alonzo, et al., Appellants, vs. Richard Menholt, et al., Respondents.
            Affirmed.  Judge Matthew E. Johnson.
            Concurring, Judge Theodora K. Gaïtas.
            Clay County District Court, Hon. Jade Rosenfeldt.
 
2.         A22-1474
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Chanan El Carlson, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Peter M. Reyes, Jr.
            Polk County District Court, Hon. Corey Harbott.

3.         A22-1341
            State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Benjamin Woodrow West, Appellant.
            Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded.  Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
            Chippewa County District Court, Hon. Thomas W. Van Hon.

4.        A23-0197

           In re: the Lawrence B. Schwagerl Trust Under Agreement Dated April 9, 1999; C. Thomas Wilson, Trustee of the Lawrence B. Schwagerl
           Trust Agreement April 9, 1999,  vs. Schwagerl Family Farm, LLC; In the Matter of the Phyllis I. Schwagerl Trust Under Agreement Dated
           April 9, 1999; C. Thomas Wilson, Trustee of the Lawrence B. Schwagerl Trust dated April 9, 1999, vs. Diana Miller and Jerome Schwagerl,
           Co- Trustees, Phyllis L. Schwagerl Trust Agreement, April 9, 1999.
           Affirmed.  Judge Jeffrey M. Bryan.
           Big Stone County District Court, Hon. Amy J. Doll.
 

5.         A22-1513
            In re the Marriage of: Wendy Sue Walker, petitioner, Respondent, vs. Neil Julian Elavsky,  Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge Sarah Wheelock.
            Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Terri Yellowhammer.

6.         A23-0045
            Timothy Richard Gilles, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent.
            Affirmed.  Judge John P. Smith.*
            Stearns County District Court, Hon. William J. Cashman.
 
7.         A22-1203
            In re the Marriage of: Kathleen Jean Brandt-Rucker, petitioner, Respondent, vs. Kraig Vernon Rucker, Appellant.
            Affirmed.  Judge John P. Smith.*
            Olmsted County District Court, Hon. Christina Kilbo Stevens.
 

 
*  Retired judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, serving by appointment pursuant to Minn. Const. art. VI, § 10.
Order OpinionsCases 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
September 25, 2023


 A23-0283      Michael Carlton Lowe Sr., petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent.
                        Affirmed.  Judge Jennifer Frisch.
                        Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Nicole A. Engisch.

NO SPECIAL RELEASE OPINIONS FILED

Opinion SetsAs of June 1, 2023, the Court of Appeals no longer provides opinion sets in Word Document format and Rich Text Format. Opinions are available in PDF format under the Opinions tabs on this site.

Opinion Sets For Opinions
Filed Monday, September 25, 2023

Opinion Set in a Zipped PDF Format

  1. Click the above link.
  2. Save the unzipped file to your computer.
  3. Choose the "Open" option on the Download Complete screen.
  4. Extract the files to a location of your choice.
  5. Open the extracted file.