Minnesota Case Law
Plain-language summaries of key Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions on family law, housing, employment, and criminal law.
Curated summaries of key Minnesota Supreme Court and Court of Appeals decisions. Each case includes a plain-language explanation of what the court decided and why it matters.
How to Read a Case Citation
When you see a citation like Fritz v. Warthen, 298 Minn. 54 (1973), here’s what it means:
- Fritz v. Warthen — the names of the parties (plaintiff v. defendant)
- 298 Minn. 54 — volume 298 of the Minnesota Reports, page 54
- (1973) — the year the court decided the case
You may also see citations to the Northwestern Reporter, like 213 N.W.2d 339, which is another set of books that publishes the same decisions.
What Is Case Law?
Statutes are laws written by the legislature. Case law is law created by judges through court decisions. When a court interprets a statute or applies the law to a specific situation, that decision becomes a rule that other courts must follow. This is called precedent.
- Minnesota Supreme Court decisions are binding on all lower courts in Minnesota.
- Minnesota Court of Appeals published decisions are binding on all district courts.
Topics Covered
- Family law — custody standards, child support, property division, spousal maintenance
- Housing — implied warranty of habitability, constructive eviction, security deposits
- Criminal law — search and seizure, sentencing, DUI/DWI
- Employment — wrongful termination, whistleblower protections, at-will employment
- Civil procedure — statute of limitations, default judgment, service of process
Finding More Cases
- Minnesota Judicial Branch — free access to recent appellate opinions
- Google Scholar — searchable database of case law (select “Case law” and filter by Minnesota courts)
- County law libraries — free access to legal research databases at your local courthouse
Minnesota Court of Appeals
Zander v. Zander
720 N.W.2d 360 (Minn. Ct. App. 2006)
Held that a court awarding joint custody over one parent's objection must make detailed findings on each statutory factor, and that tribal per capita payments received during the marriage are marital property subject to division.
Thomas B. Olson & Associates v. Leffert, Jay & Polglaze
756 N.W.2d 907 (Minn. Ct. App. 2008)
Established the standard three-element test for breach of contract claims in Minnesota: formation of a contract, performance of conditions precedent by the plaintiff, and breach by the defendant.
Szarzynski v. Szarzynski
732 N.W.2d 285 (Minn. Ct. App. 2007)
Affirmed conduct-based attorney fees under Minn. Stat. 518.14 but reversed a 'nuisance litigant' designation that did not follow the General Rules of Practice.
State v. Thompson
988 N.W.2d 149 (Minn. Ct. App. 2023)
Held that when a defendant asserts his own competence in a contested competency proceeding under Rule 20.01, the defendant bears the burden of proving competence by a fair preponderance of the evidence.
State v. Bernard
844 N.W.2d 41 (Minn. Ct. App. 2014)
Held that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit Minnesota from criminalizing refusal to submit to a breath test when circumstances establish a basis for the officer to have obtained a warrant for a nonconsensual test.
Peterson v. Western National Mutual Insurance Company
930 N.W.2d 443 (Minn. Ct. App. 2019)
Held that an insurer must conduct a reasonable investigation and fairly evaluate its results before denying a first-party insurance claim, or the denial may constitute bad faith under Minn. Stat. 604.18.
LaChapelle v. Mitten
607 N.W.2d 151 (Minn. Ct. App. 2000)
Held that third-party parental rights in nontraditional families must be evaluated under the existing custody framework, and that a biological parent is entitled to custody unless unfit or extraordinary circumstances exist.
Henry v. Independent School District No. 625
964 N.W.2d 667 (Minn. Ct. App. 2021)
Reversed summary judgment dismissal of an age-discrimination claim, holding that a 57-year-old employee who received her first negative review in 19 years after new management arrived presented sufficient evidence of disparate treatment and constructive discharge under the MHRA.
Gagliardi v. Ortho-Midwest, Inc.
733 N.W.2d 171 (Minn. Ct. App. 2007)
Held that an employer may be liable under the MHRA for hostile-work-environment harassment by its sole owner acting as a supervisor, and that disputed facts about severe or pervasive conduct can survive summary judgment.
Ellis v. Doe
915 N.W.2d 24 (Minn. Ct. App. 2018)
Held that a tenant does not need to follow rent-escrow procedures under Minn. Stat. 504B.385 before asserting a common-law habitability defense in an eviction action.
Minnesota Supreme Court
Thiele v. Stich
425 N.W.2d 580 (Minn. 1988)
Legal malpractice case establishing that claims are time-barred when service of process is not completed within the statutory limitations period, and that appellate courts may not raise new issues sua sponte.
State v. Scales
518 N.W.2d 587 (Minn. 1994)
Used supervisory power to require electronic recording of all custodial interrogations where feasible, with suppression as a remedy for noncompliance.
State v. Lester
874 N.W.2d 768 (Minn. 2016)
Applied the automobile exception to the warrant requirement in Minnesota, holding that police may search a vehicle and its closed containers without a warrant when they have probable cause to believe the search will reveal evidence or contraband.
State v. Larson
605 N.W.2d 706 (Minn. 2000)
Held that security deposits create a debtor-creditor relationship (not a trust), so deposits are not 'property of another' under the theft statute. The court reversed and vacated the defendant's theft convictions.
State v. Askerooth
681 N.W.2d 353 (Minn. 2004)
Held that the Minnesota Constitution (Art. I, sec. 10) requires application of the Terry framework to evaluate the reasonableness of each incremental seizure during a traffic stop, finding that confining a driver in a squad car was an unreasonable escalation.
State v. Ambaye
616 N.W.2d 256 (Minn. 2000)
Held that a Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Illness (NGMI) verdict does not qualify for expungement because it is not a 'resolution in favor of the petitioner,' and recognized courts' inherent authority to expunge records in limited circumstances.
Schmitz v. U.S. Steel Corp.
852 N.W.2d 669 (Minn. 2014)
Held that an employee has a constitutional right to a jury trial in a retaliatory discharge claim under Minn. Stat. § 176.82, and that even a supervisor's threat to discharge for filing a workers' compensation claim is actionable without actual termination.
Roehrdanz v. Brill
682 N.W.2d 626 (Minn. 2004)
Addressed conciliation court removal procedures, holding that a party may effectively serve a demand for removal to district court by first-class mail without requiring a signed acknowledgment of service.
Rasmussen v. Two Harbors Fish Co.
832 N.W.2d 790 (Minn. 2013)
Clarified the legal standards for sexual harassment claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, holding that hostile work environment claims do not require proof of economic loss.
Pikula v. Pikula
374 N.W.2d 705 (Minn. 1985)
Established the 'primary caretaker' preference in child custody disputes, holding that the parent who served as the child's primary caretaker should generally be awarded custody.