Minnesota Supreme Court Opinions

Orders on Petitions for Further Review

Granted
1. Sustainable 9, LLC d/b/a Sustainable 9 Design + Build vs. Jacqueline Coleman, Riverland Bank, John Doe, et al. – A24-1548

Issues Granted: (1) Whether the affirmative defense of recoupment limits or bars a mechanic’s lien when the defense arises out of the lien claimant’s negligence. (2) Whether damages caused by defective construction in excess of the alleged lien amount preclude an award of a mechanic’s lien and bar recovery of statutory costs and disbursements under Minn. Stat. § 514.14.

2. Keith D Hagfors, as Trustee for the Next of Kin of Sara E Hagfors vs. Fairview Health Services, et al., University of Minnesota, and University of Minnesota Physicians – A24-1539

Issue Granted: Whether Minn. Stat. § 573.02 makes trustee appointment a condition precedent to commencing a wrongful death action.

3. Troy Olds vs. City of Moorhead – A24-2001

Issues Granted: (1) Whether analysis of the statutory elements of a claim is the sole appropriate analysis at summary judgment. (2) Whether the McDonnell Douglas framework requires weighing of evidence in violation of Rule 56 and the Minnesota Constitution. (3) Whether evidence satisfying the statutory elements of the claim presented at summary judgment can be both direct and circumstantial.

Granted/Stayed
4. Hayden Lee Byers vs. Commissioner of Public Safety – A24-1858

Issues: (1) Does the party offering the results of a breath test into evidence in an implied consent hearing have the burden of showing that the testing operator followed proper procedures, necessary to ensure reliability of the test, while administering the test or is it not required that the certified operator follow proper
testing procedures if there is a certified operator and the testing device was in working order? (2) Is a breath test reliable when the party offering the breath test proves the test operator was certified and the testing device was working where the testing operator failed to follow his training and the proper procedures, while administering the test, that were necessary to ensure reliability?
Stayed Pending Final Disposition in Knapp v. Commissioner of Public Safety, No. A24-1440.

5. State of Minnesota vs. Detwan Cortell Allen – A24-1174

Issues Raised in the Petition for Review: (1) Is the evidence sufficient to sustain the jury’s guilty verdict for aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder? (2) Should review be granted and stayed pending this Court’s decision in Firkus?
Issues Raised in the Conditional Cross-Petition for Review: (1) Did the district court abuse its discretion by admitting prejudicial Spreigl evidence that was dissimilar from charged offense? (2) Did the prosecutor plainly err by eliciting an officer’s opinion on Allen’s guilt and by misstating the law of accomplice liability in closing argument? (3) Did the district court abuse its discretion by providing an erroneous and confusing instruction on accomplice liability over defense objection? (4) Did the cumulative impact of several trial errors deprive Allen of a fair trial? (5) Did the district court err by denying Allen’s motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence establishing he was not present at the time Kinerd formed intent to kill, and therefore could not have intentionally aided intentional murder?
Stayed Pending Final Disposition in State v. Firkus, A23-0973.

Denied
6. Brian Michael Steidl vs. Commissioner of Public Safety – A24-1832
7. City of Brooklyn Park, a Municipal Corporation vs. Michael G. Doleman – A24-1550
8. In re the Estate of Geoffrey George Herbert, a/k/a Geoffrey G. Herbert, Deceased – A25-0124
9. In the Marriage of: Catrina M Rued vs. Joseph D Rued – A25-0209
10. In the Matter of the Civil Commitment of: Aaron Le – A25-0587
11. In the Matter of the Petition of Northern States Power Company, d/b/a Xcel Energy, for Approval of its Proposed Community Solar Garden Program – A24-1450, A24-1454, A24-1455, A24-1700, A24-1741, A24-1750
12. Jeremy McNitt vs. Minnesota Information Technology Services (Accelerated Review) – A25-1486
13. Jerry Lynn Schmidt vs. James Ernest Grotluschen, et al. – A25-0069
14. JHP 2309 Lyndale, LLC vs. Icon Homes LLC, Paragon Restoration, LLC, Installed Building Solutions II, LLC, Rigid Building Co, Clark Engineering Corporation, Gary Larson, et al., Grant Benson d/b/a Renovation Services, LLC, Mike O’Brien Plumbing, LLC, Midland HVAC, LLC d/b/a Midland Heating & Cooling – A24-1225
15. Jonathan Nicholas Turner vs. State of Minnesota – A24-1834
16. Joseph Daryll Rued vs. Catrina Marie Rued, et al. – A25-0361
17. Life Time, Inc., et al. vs. Zurich American Insurance Company – A24-1501
18. Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus vs. Tim Walz, et al., Mary Moriarty (Accelerated Review) – A25-1507
19. Raymond Joseph Traylor, Sr. vs. State of Minnesota – A25-0614
20. Reliant Loan Servicing, LLC vs. Kimloan Thi Nguyen, PHH Mortgage Corporation, et al. – A24-1444
21. State of Minnesota vs. Chad David Doris – A24-1072
22. State of Minnesota vs. Daud Yasin Hashi – A24-1302
23. State of Minnesota vs. Derrick Laton Ponder – A24-1565
24. State of Minnesota vs. Guillermo Lenin Huaman – A25-0030
25. State of Minnesota vs. Jamarcus Jamond Morris – A24-1089
26. State of Minnesota vs. Jarrod James Pohl – A24-1674
27. State of Minnesota vs. Joshua Thomas Lee – A24-1811
28. State of Minnesota vs. Josiah David Delvecchio – A24-1378
29. State of Minnesota vs. Kenneth Tyler Aschan – A24-1251
30. State of Minnesota vs. Kyle Jacob Kocurek – A24-1484
31. State of Minnesota vs. Nick Adam Schouviller – A24-0531
32. State of Minnesota vs. Roald Dean Marth – A24-1268
33. State of Minnesota vs. Sherrie Elizabeth Smetana – A24-1568
34. State of Minnesota vs. Terry Soloman Price – A24-1520
35. State of Minnesota vs. Todd Damase Ouellette – A24-1067
36. State of Minnesota vs. Troy Lee Rorman – A25-0239
37. Troy Kenneth Scheffler vs. Joshua Heintzeman – A24-1719
38. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, et al. vs. State of Minnesota, et al. (Accelerated Review) – A25-1398