Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 117
As amended through October 28, 2024
The addendum, if filed, may contain the decision and opinion of the Court of Appeals, and shall otherwise be prepared as prescribed by Rule 130.02.
The petition and addendum shall be filed with the clerk of the appellate courts and shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Document Length.
Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 117
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.
Advisory Committee Comment - 2014 Amendments
Proof of service as required by Rule 117, subdivision 1, has traditionally been accomplished by an affidavit of service. For documents served using the appellate courts' electronic filing and service system, proof of service is generated by the system and electronically accompanies the served document; no separate proof of service is required.
Only a single copy of the petition and addendum need be filed.
Advisory Committee Comment-2016 Amendments
Rule 117 is amended primarily to re-define the length limit to 2,000 words rather than the current five pages. This change, coupled with the requirement that a 13-point font be used, will have a practical effect of permitting petitions that are slightly longer, but will be more easily read, both in paper format and on computer screens.
The addendum for Rule 117 petitions need not include the decision of the court of appeals, as every such decision is readily available in electronic form to the court for consideration with a petition. It is particularly useful to make inclusion of the appellate court decision optional to allow it to be omitted where it would be the only item in the addendum. Trial court decisions, however, if germane to the issues raised in a petition, may be helpful to the court in the addendum to the petition. The rule does not bar the filing of a court of appeals decision; it simply removes any requirement for it.
If the court grants further review, the addendum that accompanies the brief should include both the court of appeals and relevant district court orders and judgments pursuant to Rule 130.02.
Advisory Committee Comment-2019 Amendments
Rule 117, subd. 1 is amended to remove any implication in the rule that failing to take any step other than filing the petition for further review requires dismissal of the petition. This rule is derived from Minn. R. Crim. P. 29.04, which governs petitions for further review in criminal cases. The rule does not excuse non-compliance with the Court's rules, but confirms that the Court has the inherent authority to excuse non-compliance in the exercise of its discretion. Cf. In re J.R., 655 N.W.2d 1 (Minn. 2003) (mere 'oversight' or negligence in failing to follow the rules does not excuse non-compliance).
Rule 117, subd 5, is amended to make the same change made in Rule 129.01 to require that any request to participate on appeal as an amicus must be filed either within 14 days of the filing of the petition for further review (PFR) or after the petition has been decided. This change allows the parties an opportunity to respond to the request to participate while the PFR is pending if the request is filed while the PFR is pending.