Opinions
OPINIONS OF THE SUPREME COURT
RELEASED JUNE 3, 2026
NOTICE - MEDIA RELEASE TIME IS 10:00 A.M.
A24-1410 In the Matter of a Public Safety Officer Death Benefit for Eric William Groebner (Deceased).
Court of Appeals.
1. A public safety officer who dies from a heart attack, stroke, or vascular rupture is presumed to have been “killed in the line of duty” if the death meets the presumption criteria under Minn. Stat. § 299A.41, subd. 3(a). For purposes of the presumption criteria under subdivision 3(a)(1)(i), an emergency response is presumptively “nonroutine” regardless of how the public safety agency characterizes the emergency response or whether the emergency response is frequently performed, and the phrase “nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical” modifies the entire series of items following it: “law enforcement, fire suppression, rescue, hazardous material response, emergency medical services, prison security, disaster relief, or other emergency response activity.”
2. If the death does not satisfy the presumption criteria or if the Commissioner of Public Safety rebuts the presumption with competent medical evidence, the officer’s estate can present its own medical evidence to show that the officer was “killed in the line of duty” under Kramer v. State, Peace Officers Ben. Fund, 380 N.W.2d 497 (Minn. 1986), and Johnson v. City of Plainview, 431 N.W.2d 109 (Minn. 1988).
Affirmed in part, reversed in part. Justice Anne K. McKeig.
A25-1191 PASCP Inc., Relator, vs. Commissioner of Revenue, Respondent.
Tax Court.
1. The tax court did not err when it concluded that the Commissioner of Revenue properly extended the statute of limitations period to 6½ years under Minn. Stat. § 289A.38, subd. 6.
2. The tax court did not err when it concluded that the Commissioner of Revenue’s imposition of the negligence penalty under Minn. Stat. § 289A.60, subd. 5 was proper.
Affirmed. Justice Gordon L. Moore, III.
Took no part, Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson.