Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 117

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Below is Rule 117 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. Rule 117 deals with Petition in Supreme Court for Review of Decisions of the Court of Appeals, and is indexed under TITLE III. DECISIONS REVIEWABLE BY CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OR THE SUPREME COURT.

Rule 117. Petition in Supreme Court for Review of Decisions of the Court of Appeals

Subdivision 1. Filing of Petition. Any party seeking review of a decision of the Court of Appeals shall separately petition the Supreme Court. The petition with proof of service shall be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts within 30 days of the filing of the Court of Appeals' decision. A filing fee of $550 shall be paid to the clerk of the appellate courts.

Subdivision 2. Discretionary Review. Review of any decision of the Court of Appeals is discretionary with the Supreme Court. The following criteria may be considered:

(a) the question presented is an important one upon which the Supreme Court should rule; or

(b) the Court of Appeals has ruled on the constitutionality of a statute; or

(c) the lower courts have so far departed from the accepted and usual course of justice as to call for an exercise of the Supreme Court's supervisory powers; or

(d) a decision by the Supreme Court will help develop, clarify, or harmonize the law; and

(1) the case calls for the application of a new principle or policy; or

(2) the resolution of the question presented has possible statewide impact; or

(3) the question is likely to recur unless resolved by the Supreme Court.

Subdivision 3. Petition Requirements. The petition for review shall not exceed five typewritten pages, exclusive of appendix, and shall contain:

(a) a statement of the legal issues sought to be reviewed, and the disposition of those issues by the Court of Appeals;

(b) a statement of the criteria relied upon to support the petition, or other substantial and compelling reasons for review;

(c) a statement of the case, including disposition in the trial court or administrative agency and the Court of Appeals, and of those facts not addressed by the Court of Appeals relevant to the issues presented for review, with appropriate references to the record; and

(d) a brief argument in support of the petition.

The appendix shall contain the decision and opinion of the Court of Appeals, the judgments, orders, findings of fact, conclusions of law, and memorandum decisions of the trial court or administrative agency, pertinent trial briefs, and any portion of the record necessary for an understanding of the petition.

Four copies of the petition and appendix shall be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts.

Subdivision 4. Response and Request for Cross-Review. An opposing party may file with the clerk of the appellate courts a response to the petition within 20 days of service. The response shall comply with the requirements set forth for the petition and shall contain proof of service. Any responding party may, in its response, also conditionally seek review of additional designated issues not raised by the petition. In the event of such conditional request, the party filing the initial petition for review shall not be entitled to file a response unless the court requests one on its own initiative.

Subdivision 5. Amicus Curiae. A request for leave to participate in the appeal as amicus curiae is governed by Rule 129.

(Amended effective December 1, 2003.)

Comment - 1983

This entirely new rule establishes the procedure for obtaining Supreme Court review of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Review is discretionary with the Supreme Court. While the rule enumerates criteria which may be considered by the court in exercising its discretion, they are intended to the instructive and are neither mandatory nor exclusive. The petition should be accompanied by any documents pertinent to the Supreme Court's review.

See Appendix for form of petition for review (Form 117).

Advisory Committee Comment - 1998 Amendments

The 1998 revisions to Rule 117 eliminate the provision for "conditional" petitions for review. In its stead, the revised rule allows parties to include in their responses a conditional request to the court to review additional issues only if the petition is granted. This procedure mirrors the procedure used in criminal appeals. See MINN. R. CRIM. P. 29.04, subd. 6 (appeals to Court of Appeals). The revised rule does not provide for any expansion of the five-page limit for the response in order to accommodate the conditional request for review of additional issues. By the same token, the amended rule does not allow a reply by the party initially seeking review, since that party has already indicated to the court that the case satisfies some of the criteria of Rule 117.

A party who wishes to have issues reviewed by the Supreme Court regardless of the court's actions on a previously filed petition should file a petition within the 30-day time limit from decision, since the court is unlikely to deny an initial petition but grant review of issues raised only conditionally in a response. Likewise, a party who would feel constrained by the page limit of a response which includes a conditional request for review of additional issues should file a separate petition for review within the time provided by Rule 117 for an initial petition, 30 days from the date of filing the Court of Appeals’ decision.