OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . On May 25, 2017, the Ninetieth Minnesota State Senate and the Ninetieth Minnesota State House of Representatives (collectively, the Legislature) each adjourned sine die, ending the special session that began on May 23, 2017. On May 30, 2017, the Governor vetoed line-item appropriations to the Legislature for its biennial budget. The Legislature commenced this action, contending, in part, that the line-item veto power cannot be used over the appropriations...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . Relators Ronald and Dee Johnson (the "Johnsons") initiated this action, which challenges the property taxes that Hennepin County (the "County") assessed against their property. The tax court denied relief to the Johnsons and they appeal. Because we conclude that the tax court did not err, we affirm. FACTS On April 30, 2014, the Johnsons filed a petition challenging the County's assessments of their real property for tax years 2007 through 2013. In...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Appellant Rackner, Inc. d/b/a Bunny's Bar & Grill challenges a court of appeals' opinion reversing the dismissal of respondent Todd Burt's complaint alleging a violation of the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act (MFLSA), Minn. Stat. 177.21-.35 (2016), for Rackner's decision to terminate him for "not properly sharing his tips." The issue presented is whether the MFLSA provides a private cause of action for an employee who is discharged for refusing to share...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Following a jury trial, appellant/cross-respondent Devon Derrick Parker was convicted of second-degree intentional murder and sentenced to 480 months in prison, which reflected an upward durational departure from the presumptive range of 312 to 439 months. On appeal, Parker challenged his conviction, arguing both that the district court erred when it denied his motion for a change of venue and that the prosecutor committed misconduct during a pretrial press...
LILLEHAUG , Justice . OPINION A 4-year-old boy, Shungmanitou Washtay Kihega ("Shawn"), wandered off during a family party on respondent Peter Carlson's property. Shawn's relatives found him face down in the Mississippi River. Shawn was revived, but he suffered severe brain damage from the near-drowning. Appellant Amanda Senogles, as parent and guardian of Shawn, filed this lawsuit against Carlson, alleging that, as the landowner, he violated his duty of care to his invitee, Shawn. The...
OPINION STRAS , Justice . This case requires us to determine whether Danna Rochelle Back may file a petition for an order declaring her eligible for compensation under Minnesota's Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act, Minn. Stat. 590.11, 611.362-.368 (2016) (the "exoneration-compensation statute"). The case raises three purely legal questions. First, was Back "exonerated" under Minn. Stat. 590.11, subd. 1(1)(i), when we reversed her conviction of second-degree manslaughter after...
OPINION STRAS , Justice . This case requires us to determine whether the part of Minnesota's disorderly-conduct statute that prohibits "disturb[ing]" assemblies or meetings, Minn. Stat. 609.72, subd. 1(2) (2016), is unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Both the district court and the court of appeals concluded that the statute is constitutional. Because Minn. Stat. 609.72, subd. 1(2), violates the First Amendment and there is no reasonable...
OPINION ANDERSON , Justice . Appellant Maurice Nathaniel Wilson was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, Minn. Stat. 609.05, .185(a)(1) (2016), on an accomplice-liability theory for his involvement in the murder of Anthony Fairbanks. On appeal, Wilson asserts that the district court made two errors. First, he argues that the district court clearly erred by denying his Batson objection to the State's peremptory challenge of prospective juror 29. Second, he argues that the...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . The focus of this appeal is on the permissibility of preaward interest on an insurance appraisal award under Minn. Stat. 549.09, subd. 1(b) (2016). The case presents three questions: (1) whether the recovery of preaward interest under Minn. Stat. 549.09, subd. 1(b), requires a finding of an underlying breach of contract or actionable wrongdoing; (2) whether an insured may recover preaward interest on an appraisal award for a fire insurance loss when the...
OPINION GILDEA , Chief Justice . In this case we are asked to decide whether the Minnesota Rules of Evidence apply to restitution hearings held under Minn. Stat. 611A.045, subd. 3(b) (2016). 1 The district court overruled objections to documents the State offered during the restitution hearing, concluding that the Rules of Evidence did not apply. The court of appeals affirmed in relevant part, concluding that because restitution is part of a defendant's sentence and Minn. R. Evid....
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . In this case, two long-established rules come together. First, in a negligence case, when the issue of reasonable foreseeability of the injury is close, it should be decided by the jury. Second, on a motion for summary judgment, all facts and the inferences arising from them must be considered in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Here, appellant Nereus Montemayor was injured as he attempted to manually clear a jam from an extruder manufactured by...
OPINION LILLEHAUG , Justice . After dissolving their marriage, appellant Bridget Meyer and respondent Robert Crowley agreed to share joint legal and physical custody of their children. Their agreement was reflected in a 2012 judgment and decree. In 2013, the district court issued a series of orders granting Crowley "temporary" sole physical custody of the children. More than a year later, Meyer moved to "reinstate" joint custody, but the district court denied her motion in a March 2015...
OPINION CHUTICH , Justice . Respondent Anibal Sanchez sued appellant Dahlke Trailer Sales, Inc. (Dahlke) under the antiretaliation provision of the Minnesota workers' compensation statute. Minn. Stat. 176.82, subd. 1 (2016). The district court granted summary judgment to Dahlke, concluding that Sanchez had not raised a genuine issue of material fact about whether Dahlke discharged him because he sought workers' compensation benefits. The court of appeals reversed. Sanchez v. Dahlke...
OPINION PER CURIAM . The Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility (Director) filed a petition for disciplinary action against John F. Bonner, III, alleging that while acting as principal owner of a law firm, Bonner failed to remit withheld employee contributions into employees' retirement accounts and instead used the funds to pay both his law firm's and his own expenses. Count I of the petition involved conduct for which Bonner was convicted of felony theft by...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . Sinuon and Lawrence Leiendecker sued the nonprofit organization Asian Women United of Minnesota (AWUM), alleging that two of AWUM's previous lawsuits against them constituted malicious prosecution. AWUM sought immunity under Minnesota's anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law, which permits parties to move for dismissal of a lawsuit on the ground that a claim against them relates to an act involving public participation. Minn. Stat. 554....
OPINION LILLEHAUG , Justice . On March 8, 2010, a jury found appellant Jerrell Michael Brown guilty of first-degree murder committed for the benefit of a gang. We affirmed Brown's conviction on direct appeal, as well as the postconviction court's denial of his first petition for postconviction relief. State v. Brown, 815 N.W.2d 609 (Minn. 2012). The day before the postconviction statute of limitations expired (December 9, 2014), he filed his second petition. Over the next six months,...
OPINION ANDERSON , Justice . A jury found respondent Carlos Harris guilty of possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the jury's verdict. Appellant State of Minnesota petitioned for review, asserting that the court of appeals erred in its application of the law and asking us to abandon the separate standard of review for convictions based on circumstantial evidence. We...
OPINION HUDSON , Justice . Appellant Mahdi Hassan Ali ("Mahdi") 1 shot and killed three men during a robbery of the Seward Market when he was 16 years old. 2 Following a jury trial, he was convicted of three counts of murder that we affirmed on appeal. State v. Ali, 855 N.W.2d 235 , 240 (Minn. 2014). He now challenges the district court's imposition of three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment with the possibility of release after 30 years on each sentence. According to Mahdi,...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . Montrell Maurice Webster was convicted of first-degree felony murder, Minn. Stat. 609.185(a)(3) (2016), for the killing of Eulalio Gonzalez-Sanchez. On appeal, Webster challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and the district court's jury instructions. We affirm. FACTS On September 21, 2014, Gonzalez-Sanchez was discovered shot to death on a sidewalk in northeast Minneapolis. After a police investigation, a grand jury indicted Webster for first-degree...
OPINION McKEIG , Justice . Appellant Eddie Matthew Mosley was convicted of three counts of first-degree premeditated murder. Mosley appealed his conviction, and we affirmed. State v. Mosley, 853 N.W.2d 789 (Minn. 2014), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 135 S.Ct. 1185 , 191 L.Ed.2d 142 (2015). Mosley filed a petition for postconviction relief, claiming he was entitled to a new trial based on newly discovered evidence in the form of affidavits signed by five alibi witnesses. He also...
