MINNESOTA COURT RULES

GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 104.Civil Cover Sheet and Certificate of Representation and Parties

Except as otherwise provided in these rules for specific types of cases and in cases where the action is commenced by filing by operation of statute, a party filing a civil case shall, at the time of filing, notify the court administrator in writing of:

(a) If the case is a family case or a civil case listed in Rule 111.01 of this rule, the name, postal address, e-mail address, and telephone number of all counsel and self-represented litigants, if known, in a Certificate of Representation and Parties (see Form CIV102 promulgated by the state court administrator and published on the website www.mncourts.gov) or

(b) If the case is a non-family civil case other than those listed in Rule 111.01, basic information about the case in a Civil Cover Sheet (see Form CIV117 promulgated by the state court administrator and published on the website www.mncourts.gov) which shall also include the information required in part (a) of this rule. Any other party to the action may, within 7 days of service of the filing party's civil cover sheet, file a supplemental civil cover sheet to provide additional information about the case.

If that information is not then known to the filing party, it shall be provided to the court administrator in writing by the filing party within 7 days of learning it. Any party impleading additional parties shall provide the same information to the court administrator. The court administrator shall, upon receipt of the completed certificate, notify all parties or their lawyers, if represented by counsel, of the date of filing the action and the file number assigned.

(Amended effective January 1, 1993; amended effective January 1, 1996; amended effective July 1, 2013; amended effective July 1, 2015; amended effective January 1, 2020.)

Cross Reference: Minn. R. Civ. P. 5.04.

Advisory Committee Comment - 1995 Amendment

This rule is derived from 7th Dist. R. 7 (eff. Jan. 1, 1990).

The final sentence is derived from 2d Dist. R. 2(b).

This rule formalizes the requirement to provide information about all parties when an action is filed. Its need derives from the commencement of actions by service and the fact that many pleadings are routinely not filed. The certificate of representation and parties serves a purpose of allowing the court to give notice of assignment of a judge to the case (in those districts making that assignment prior to trial), thereby triggering for all parties the 10-day period to remove an assigned judge under Minn. R. Civ. P. 63.

This requirement now exists in the Fourth and Seventh districts, and seems to be the type of requirement the Task Force seeks to make uniform statewide. The required information may be submitted in typed form or on forms available from the court administrator. A sample form is included in the Appendix of Forms as Form 104.

The first clause of the rule is intended to make it clear that where other rules provide specific requirements relating to initiation of an action for scheduling purposes, those rules govern. For example, Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 144.01, as amended in 1992, states that the Certificate of Representation required under this rule is not required in wrongful death actions following the mere filing of a petition for appointment of the trustee, but is required after the action itself is commenced by service of the summons and papers are filed with the court. Rule 141.02, as amended in 1992, similarly provides that filing of a notice of appeal from a commissioner's award triggers the assignment process requirements in condemnation proceedings. In addition to cases exempted by rule, this rule was amended in 1995 to exempt its application to actions that are commenced by filing. In those cases, it is unfair and inappropriate to place additional burdens on the filing process that are not required by statute, and which might result in the rejection of a document for filing. The consequences of rejecting such a document can be dire. Minnesota Statutes, section 514.11. Cf. AAA Electric & Neon Service, Inc. v. R. Design Co., 364 N.W.2d 869 (Minn. App. 1985) (bar by not meeting filing requirement of action in a timely manner). The Advisory Committee believes it is not appropriate to reject such documents for filing in any event, but this rule now makes it clear that a certificate of representation and parties is not required in actions commenced by filing. For the convenience of the parties, frequently encountered examples of actions that are commenced by filing include mechanic's lien actions, quiet title actions, and actions to register title to real property (Torrens actions). This amendment is intended to remove the requirement that a certificate of representation and parties accompany the complaint for filing. It is not intended to prevent courts from obtaining this information, if still needed, after process has been served and the parties' representation known.