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 Tuesday, February 18, 2025
A24-1113 Bryce Holstad, et al., Appellants, vs. Town of May, Respondent.
Washington County District Court, Hon. Siv Mjanger.
1. When establishing a mandatory cartway under Minnesota Statutes section 164.08, subdivision 2 (2024), a town has implied authority to impose appropriate conditions on the construction, opening, and use of the cartway.
2. Damages under section 164.08, subdivision 2(c), may include a town’s attorney fees incurred in connection with an appeal of a resolution establishing a cartway as well as engineer costs incurred to supervise cartway construction because both are a “cost of professional and other services . . . and other costs and expenses which the town may incur in connection with the proceedings for the establishment of the cartway.”
Affirmed and remanded. Judge Tracy M. Smith.
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 Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 136.01, subd. 1 (c)
1.
A24-0815
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Austin McKepton Lee, Appellant.
Reversed and remanded. Chief Judge Jennifer L. Frisch.
Lyon County District Court, Hon. Michelle A. Dietrich.
2.
A24-1473
In the Matter of the Welfare of the Children of: M. R. M. P., Mother.
Affirmed. Judge Francis J. Connolly.
Winona County District Court, Hon. Nancy L. Buytendorp.
3.
A24-1316
In the Matter of the Welfare of the Child of: X. M. B. and J. C. B.-G., Parents.
Affirmed. Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman.
Olmsted County District Court, Hon. Christa M. Daily.
4.
A24-0628
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Patricia Michelle Jones, Appellant.
Reversed and remanded. Judge Tracy M. Smith.
Cottonwood County District Court, Hon. Christina M. Wietzema.
5.
A24-0462
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Shawn Elson Randall, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
Carlton County District Court, Hon. Amy E. Lukasavitz.
6.
A23-0481
Sally Cooper Smith, Appellant, vs. Steven C. Piechowski, individually and dba SP Trucking, LLC, Defendant, Northstar Materials, Inc., dba Knife
River Materials, Respondent.
Reversed and remanded. Judge Diane B. Bratvold.
Clay County District Court, Hon. Leah duCharme.
7.
A24-0901
Andre Binns, Relator, vs. Gopher Resource, LLC, Respondent, Department of Employment and Economic Development, Respondent.
Affirmed. Judge Randall J. Slieter.
Department of Employment and Economic Development.
8.
A24-0811
Steven Craig Redick, Respondent, vs. John Leslie Cooper, Appellant.
Reversed. Judge Sarah I. Wheelock.
Hennepin County District Court, Hon. Kristin Siegesmund.
9.
A24-0373
Remona Lysa Brown, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent.
Affirmed. Judge Sarah I. Wheelock.
Nobles County District Court, Hon. Sherry Haley.
10.
A23-1040
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. John Joseph Hare, Appellant.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Judge Elise Larson.
Anoka County District Court, Hon. Todd R. Schoffelman.
11.
A23-1832
State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Vincent Joseph Myslajek, Appellant.
Affirmed. Judge Jon Schmidt.
Anoka County District Court, Hon. Karin L. McCarthy.
12.
A24-0627
Mark O. Onyenemezu, petitioner, Appellant, vs. Faith Chioma Onyenemezu, Respondent.
Affirmed. Judge Denise D. Reilly.*
Anoka County District Court, Hon. Sean C. Gibbs.
* 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
February 18, 2025
1.
A24-0744
Andrew Joseph Haman, petitioner, Appellant, vs. State of Minnesota, Respondent.
Affirmed. Chief Judge Jennifer L. Frisch.
Steele County District Court, Hon. Karen R. Duncan.
2.
A24-1157
Peter Richard Rickmyer, Appellant, vs. Xenos Letoi Brooks, Respondent.
Remanded. Judge Tracy M. Smith.
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 Tuesday, February 18, 2025
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.