Minnesota Supreme Court Decisions 2019

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Petitioner's third petition for postconviction relief, holding that Petitioner was conclusively entitled to no relief. Petitioner was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief, holding that the claims raised in the petition were procedurally barred and that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, holding that Defendant's claim failed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of the City of Saint Paul and dismissing Appellant's petition asserting that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing this defamation action, holding that a corporate officer who did not author a defamatory statement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellants' action seeking judicial review of a zoning variance granted by the Town of Duluth to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that, by the plain words of Minn. Stat. 604.02, a tortfeasor's liability to an injured employee is not reduced by the employer's fault. At issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that the officer formed a reasonable, articulable suspicion to make the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) ruling that Minn. Stat. 176.179 did not apply to Appellant's vacated workers' compensation award, holding that no mistaken…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of first-degree manslaughter, holding that the plain language of the first-degree manslaughter statute, Minn. Stat.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case against two for-profit universities (the Schools) alleging that the Schools violated the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act (MCFA), Minn. Stat. 325F.69, and the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), Minn.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree felony murder, first-degree aggravated robbery, and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person related to a fatal shooting, holding that the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. 51-60, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's use of the federal post judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court deducting from a damages award to Respondent the amount of discounts negotiated…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court directing the City of Saint Paul to put a referendum question regarding the City's ordinance that established organized waste collection in the City on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to the City of Brainerd after the City restructured its fire department and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court's decision denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief asserting the invalidity of a test-refusal conviction under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the district court's decision awarding Mother and Father joint physical custody and equal parenting time, holding that the district court did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's dismissal of Appellants' complaint against U.S. Bank on statute of limitations grounds, holding that Appellants' breach of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS) determining that Appellant was permanently disqualified from working in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals' decision reversing the order of the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry for Baywood Home Care to pay unpaid overtime wages and liquidated damages, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court granting judgment as a matter of law to Lycoming Engines on Mark Kedrowski's claim that a defective fuel pump…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals vacating as moot the district court's order granting Antwone Ford's petition for a writ of habeas corpus and ordering the Department of Corrections either…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court concluding that a receiver should bring a piercing-the-corporate-veil claim against the shareholders of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this defamation action brought by Nathan McGuire, a public high school basketball head coach, against Julie Bowlin and three other defendants, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of knowingly failing to register as a predatory offender, holding that to convict a defendant of knowingly failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's conviction of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and false imprisonment, holding that Defendant was not deprived of a fair trial when a detective testified about photographs that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction, holding that a body cavity search performed by forcing Defendant to be strapped down and sedated in order to undergo an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's sentence on the basis that the district court had misapplied Minn. Sent. Guidelines 2.B.7.a, holding that the classification of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the determination of the Commissioner of Human Services that Appellant committed maltreatment under the Maltreatment of Minors Act, Minn. Stat. 626.556, subd. 2(g), when a three-year-old child…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief, holding that the district court did not err in denying the petition without holding an evidentiary…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's exercise of specific personal jurisdiction over Ford Motor Company in this products liability case, holding that the claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part the judgment of the tax court reaching a valuation for KCP Hastings, LLC's shopping mall, holding that the tax court erred in the assignment of value…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging two counts under the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act, Minn. Stat.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Minnesota Tax Court holding that the Minnesota Legislature incorporated the federal "minimum base amount" limitation into Minnesota's research and development (R&D) tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) affirming a compensation judge's judgment finding that Alapati Noga, a former defensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, who…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court holding that the Minnesota Legislature incorporated the federal "minimum base amount" limitation into Minnesota's research and development (R&D) tax credit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court construing Defendant's motion to correct his sentence as a motion for postconviction relief and summarily denying postconviction relief without holding an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, holding that Defendant's allegations of error did not warrant reversal of his convictions. Specifically, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) reversing the judgment of the compensation judge dismissing Petitioner's claim petition seeking workers' compensation benefits…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court ordering Defendant to pay restitution for destruction of a cabin after a jury found him guilty of burglary but…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court dismissing petitions filed by Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust (the Trust) challenging Anoka County's assessment of the Trust's three parcels of land in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the tax court affirming the conclusion of the Commissioner of Revenue that the sales tax exemption in Minn. Stat. 297A.68, subd. 5 for the purchase of capital equipment did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court suppressing the results of Defendant's blood test, holding that the limited right to counsel established in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the postconviction court summarily denying Defendant's petition for postconviction relief arguing that counsel provided ineffective assistance and that an expert witness for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case filed by a bus driver who sought reimbursement for chiropractic services related to her work-related injury the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals to reinstate Plaintiff's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of aiding and abetting first-degree murder, holding that any error in the proceedings below was harmless. Specifically, the Court held (1) the district court's admission…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Appellants - Someplace Safe, Inc. an advocacy…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction court denying Appellant's petition for postconviction relief without holding an evidentiary hearing, holding that the petition was untimely. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of first-degree felony murder, attempted first-degree felony murder, drive-by shooting (the underlying felony), and other offenses, holding that the evidence was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's convictions for first-degree sexual conduct and domestic assault by strangulation, holding that Minn. R. Crim. P. 9.01 subs. 1-1a does…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that two Minnesota statutes - Minn. Stat. 609.749, subd. 2(6), the stalking-by-mail provision, and Minn. Stat. 609.795, subd. 1(3), the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the district court's ruling that the admission of statements made by Defendant using a foreign language interpreter did not violate the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of an unemployment law judge upholding the determination of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held in this eviction action that, under the circumstances of this case, the retaliation defense was not available under Minn. Stat. 504B.441 but that the common law should recognize a defense when a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the decision of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) affirming in part and reversing in part the workers' compensation judge's determination that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Commissioner of Human Services determining that RS Eden, a supervised living facility where J.W. received treatment before voluntarily leaving and dying of a drug overdose…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court determining that Appellant was not entitled to custody credit against her Minnesota sentence for time spent in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to strike for lack of probable cause count 3, domestic assault with intent to cause…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction of burglary in the first degree and criminal sexual conduct in the fourth degree on the ground that the district court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree premeditated murder but reversed Defendant's conviction for second-degree intentional murder, holding that the district court improperly entered a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the postconviction court summarily denying Appellant's claims for ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel without holding an evidentiary hearing, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals' decision affirming Defendant's conviction, holding (1) the forfeiture rule does not apply to a defendant's challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence that is based on a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Appellant's consecutive sentences, holding that consecutive sentences for Appellant's offenses were a departure for which the district court had…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to the State on Appellant's claims alleging false imprisonment and negligence, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the conclusion of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals that the medical treatment parameters established under the Workers' Compensation Act do not apply when an employer contests its…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the lower courts that, as a matter of law, a hospitalist owed no duty of care to a patient seeking to be admitted because no physician-patient relationship had been…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court discharged the writ of certiorari sought by Guardian Energy and dismissed the appeal in this case, holding that the order appealed from was not a final order at the time Guardian petitioned for a writ…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals dismissing the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource's (DNR) appeal of an order of the Chippewa/Swift Joint Board of Commissioners (Board) reestablishing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the post conviction court denying Appellant's motion to correct his sentence, holding that because Minn. Stat. 609.185 does not require a sentence of life imprisonment with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Respondent on Appellant's complaint alleging that Respondent failed to engage in an interactive…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the order of the district court vacating the order of the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) that approved an annexation of certain property by…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this family dispute over real estate ownership resulting in a land partition action the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court's order finding Appellant in contempt…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this first-degree murder case the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court summarily denying Appellant’s second and third petitions for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant was conclusively…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant’s first-degree burglary conviction, holding that the victim must be physically present during the burglary for a conviction under Minn.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this condemnation case, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s award of $168,009 in attorney fees to the landowner under the condemnation fee-shifting statute,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals ruling that Minnesota’s vehicle forfeiture statute, Minn. Stat. 169A.63, is unconstitutional as applied to Helen and Megan…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court determining that the physician-patient privilege covered a blood sample and granting Defendant’s motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing Defendant's conviction for third-degree murder, holding that the third-degree murder statute, Minn. Stat. 609.195(a), does not require the State…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the decision of the district court finding for Tenant in the underlying eviction proceedings brought by Landlord and concluding that Landlord had…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court denying the motion for summary judgment filed by the City of Minneapolis as to Plaintiff’s claims under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the district court’s denial of Appellant’s request for a jury instruction on the defense of voluntary intoxication, holding that Minn. State.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the workers’ compensation court of appeals (WCCA) reversing the workers’ compensation judge’s dismissal of Respondent’s petition for temporary total disability (TTD) benefits…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s denial of the City of Richfield’s motion to vacate an arbitration award reinstating Nathan Kinsey, a police officer, after…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction court summarily denying Appellant’s present petition for postconviction relief, holding that the record conclusively established that Appellant was not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the tax court concluding that the Commissioner of Revenue had overvalued Enbridge Energy, LP’s (EELP) pipeline system for 2013, 2014, and 2015 and issuing a new valuation for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions but reversed his sentence for first-degree murder of an unborn child, holding that the plain language of Minn. Stat. 609.106 does not authorize a sentence of life…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court in this negligence case decided not to extend the doctrine of implied primary assumption of risk, which is a complete bar to tort liability, to recreational skiing and snowboarding, thus affirming the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendant, a Minneapolis bar, on Plaintiffs’ complaint pleading innkeeper-negligence…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals dismissing the portion of Appellants’ appeal arising out of orders denying their motions in limine because Appellants did not raise their objections in a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to correct his sentence, holding that the two-tier conditional-release term contained in Minn.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding Defendant’s conviction of simple robbery, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction. Defendant’s conviction arose from…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming Appellant’s conviction of felony domestic assault, holding that the evidence was sufficient to prove that Defendant and the victim were “persons…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of first-degree premeditated murder and sentencing him to life in prison without the possibility of release, holding that, contrary to…