MINNESOTA COURT RULES

GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 378.Appeal to Court of Appeals

Rule 378.01Generally

An appeal may be taken to the court of appeals from a final order or judgment of a child support magistrate or from a final order deciding a motion for review under Rule 376. Such an appeal shall be taken in accordance with the procedures set forth in the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure within 60 days of the date the court administrator serves upon the parties the notice of filing of order or notice of entry of judgment. If any party brings a timely motion to correct clerical mistakes under Rule 375 or a timely motion for review under Rule 376, the time for appeal is extended for all parties while that motion is pending. Once the last such pending motion is decided by the child support magistrate or district court judge, the 60 days to appeal from the final order or judgment of a child support magistrate or from a final order deciding a motion to correct clerical mistakes or a motion for review runs for all parties from the date the court administrator serves upon the parties the notice of filing of order or notice of entry of judgment disposing of that motion. A notice of appeal filed before the disposition of a timely motion to correct clerical mistakes or for review is premature and of no effect, and it does not divest the child support magistrate of jurisdiction to dispose of the motion. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure shall govern the taking and processing of such appeals.

(Amended effective January 1, 2020.)

Advisory Committee Comment

Timing. Under Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 104.01, the sixty (60) days in which to bring an appeal to the court of appeals begins to run on the date of service by any party of written notice of filing of an appealable order or on the date on which an appealable judgment is entered. The Advisory Committee intends that Rule 378 supersede the appellate rule to provide that the sixty (60) days to appeal begins to run from the time the court administrator serves the written notice of filing of order or notice of entry of judgment.

Scope of Review. A party may choose to bring a motion to correct clerical mistakes, or a motion for review, or to appeal directly to the court of appeals thus bypassing the first two options. However, if a party chooses the option of appealing directly to the court of appeals without first bringing a motion for review, such an appeal will be limited to determining whether the evidence sustains the findings of fact (to which the "clearly erroneous" standard of review applies) and whether the findings support the conclusions of law and the judgment. Kahn v. Tronnier, 547 N.W.2d at 428, rev. denied (Minn. July 10, 1996). Thus, although a motion for review is very important to obtaining the broadest possible appellate review, it is not an absolute prerequisite to appeal -- a litigant can choose to file a direct appeal from the order of the child support magistrate, but the appeal will be limited to issues within that narrower scope of review.