Civil Case Management

Civil judges handle a "block" of cases, and the cases are initially assigned to civil judges on a random basis. For the following types of cases, once a case has been assigned, that judge handles the case all the way to the final disposition:

Appeals from administrative agency
Appointment of Trustee
Assessment appeal
Change of name
Civil other / miscellaneous
Class action lawsuit
Consumer credit
Conciliation appeal
Condemnation
Discrimination
Employment
Forfeiture Malpractice
Mechanics lien
Minor settlement
Personal injury
Product liability
Property damage
Quiet title
Receivership
Replevin
Sexual harassment
Welfare appeal
Wrongful death

District Court staff review all emergency filings before they are accepted and before a judge is assigned. This includes requests for temporary restraining orders, injunctions, and other forms of emergency relief.

For any filing requesting emergency assignment, the filer must submit a letter explaining the basis for the request. This letter must be filed using the code "Request for Emergency Judge Assignment" and included with all pleadings and supporting documents.

Emergency filings are reviewed during regular business hours. Filings submitted after 3:00 p.m. may be reviewed the same day or on the next business day. If accepted, the case will be assigned on the next business day.

All required filing fees must be paid at the time of filing or submitted with a fee waiver request, or the filing will be rejected.

Once a case is assigned, a Notice of Case Assignment will be filed. The filer is responsible for contacting judicial staff regarding scheduling and any other case-related matters.

MN Court Rule 113.02 Consolidation of cases within a judicial district: a motion asking that two or more cases pending in a single Judicial District be assigned to one judge must be made to the Chief Judge of the District in which the cases are pending, or the Chief Judge's designee.

In the Fourth Judicial District, the presiding judge of Civil Court hears contested motions and reviews stipulations on these cases. The best practice used when ordering consolidation and assignment is to assign all cases to the judge who has the earliest case (by file date).

Civil Court

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