HF 1770

2nd Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 06/02/2016 12:14pm

A bill for an act
relating to courts; providing for conciliation court jurisdiction to determine
claims by a county against a nonresident; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014,
section 491A.01, subdivision 3a, by adding a subdivision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 491A.01, subdivision 3a, is amended to
read:

Subd. 3a.

Jurisdiction; general.

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions 4 and 5, the
conciliation court has jurisdiction to hear, conciliate, try, and determine civil claims if the
amount of money or property that is the subject matter of the claim does not exceed: (1)
$15,000; or (2) $4,000, if the claim involves a consumer credit transaction.

(b) "Consumer credit transaction" means a sale of personal property, or a loan
arranged to facilitate the purchase of personal property, in which:

(1) credit is granted by a seller or a lender who regularly engages as a seller or
lender in credit transactions of the same kind;

(2) the buyer is a natural person;

(3) the claimant is the seller or lender in the transaction; and

(4) the personal property is purchased primarily for a personal, family, or household
purpose and not for a commercial, agricultural, or business purpose.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and subdivisions 5 to deleted text begin 10 deleted text end new text begin 11 new text end , the
territorial jurisdiction of conciliation court is coextensive with the county in which the
court is established. The summons in a conciliation court action under subdivisions 6 to
10 may be served anywhere in the state, and the summons in a conciliation court action
under subdivision 7, paragraph (b), may be served outside the state in the manner provided
by law. The court administrator shall serve the summons in a conciliation court action
by first class mail, except that if the amount of money or property that is the subject of
the claim exceeds $2,500, the summons must be served by the plaintiff by certified mail,
and service on nonresident defendants must be made in accordance with applicable law
or rule. Subpoenas to secure the attendance of nonparty witnesses and the production of
documents at trial may be served anywhere within the state in the manner provided by law.

When a court administrator is required to summon the defendant by certified mail
under this paragraph, the summons may be made by personal service in the manner
provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure for personal service of a summons of the district
court as an alternative to service by certified mail.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 491A.01, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 11. new text end

new text begin Jurisdiction; county claim against nonresident. new text end

new text begin The conciliation
court has jurisdiction to determine a civil action commenced by the county in which it
is established to recover debts owed to the county for fees, services, overpayments, or
similar obligations, even though the defendant is not a resident of the county provided
that notice of the overdue debt:
new text end

new text begin (1) has previously been sent by first class mail to the non-resident defendant at
the defendant's last known address; and
new text end

new text begin (2) states that the county may commence a conciliation court action in the county
where the debt owed was incurred.
new text end

new text begin For the purposes of this section, "overpayments" does not include any overpayments
that are governed by the procedures set forth under chapter 256.
new text end