MINNESOTA COURT RULES

CIVIL PROCEDURE

Rule 54.Judgments; Costs

54.01Definition; Form

Judgment as used in these rules includes a decree and means the final determination of the rights of the parties in an action or proceeding. A judgment shall not contain a recital of pleadings, the report of a referee, or the record of prior proceedings.

54.02Judgment upon Multiple Claims

When multiple claims for relief or multiple parties are involved in an action, the court may direct the entry of a final judgment as to one or more but fewer than all of the claims or parties only upon an express determination that there is no just reason for delay and upon an express direction for the entry of judgment. In the absence of such determination and direction, any order or other form of decision, however designated, which adjudicates fewer than all the claims or the rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties shall not terminate the action as to any of the claims or parties, and the order or other form of decision is subject to revision at any time before the entry of judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties.

54.03Demand for Judgment

A judgment by default shall not be different in kind from or exceed in amount that prayed for in the demand for judgment. Except as to a party against whom a judgment is entered by default, every other judgment shall grant the relief to which the party in whose favor it is rendered is entitled.

54.04Costs

(a) Costs and disbursements allowed.

Costs and disbursements shall be allowed as provided by law.

(b) Application for costs and disbursements.

A party seeking to recover costs and disbursements must serve and file a detailed application for taxation of costs and disbursements with the court administrator, substantially in the form as published by the state court administrator. The application must be signed under oath or penalty of perjury pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 358.116, and must be served and filed not later than 45 days after entry of a final judgment as to the party seeking costs and disbursements. A party may, but is not required to, serve and file a memorandum of law with an application for taxation of costs and disbursements.

(c) Objections.

Not later than seven days after service of the application by any party, any other party may file a separate application as in section (b), above, or may file written objections to the award of any costs or disbursements sought by any other party, specifying the grounds for each objection.

(d) Decision.

Costs and disbursements may be taxed by the court administrator or a district court judge at any time after all parties have been allowed an opportunity to file applications and to object to the application of any other party as provided in this rule. The judge or court administrator may tax any costs and disbursements allowed by law.

(e) Review by judge.

If costs and disbursements are taxed by the court administrator, any party aggrieved by the action of the court administrator may serve and file a notice of appeal not later than seven days after the court administrator serves notice of taxation on all parties. Any other party may file a response to the appeal not later than seven days after the appeal is served. The appeal shall thereupon be decided by a district court judge and determined upon the record before the court administrator.

(f) Judgment for costs.

When costs and disbursements have been determined, whether by a district court judge or by the court administrator with no appeal taken to a district court judge, they shall promptly be inserted in the judgment.

(Amended effective July 1, 2010; amended effective July 1, 2015.)

Advisory Committee Comment - 2010 Amendment

Rule 54.04 is amended both to clarify its operation and to improve the procedure for taxing costs by the court administrator and the review of those decisions by the district court judge. The amended process is commenced by filing an application on a form established by the State Court Administrator and made available on the Judicial Branch website (or in substantially the same form).

Advisory Committee Comments - 2015 Amendments

Rule 54.04 is amended to implement a new statute directing the courts to consider accepting documents without notarization if they are signed under the following language: "I declare under penalty of perjury that everything I have stated in this document is true and correct." Minnesota Statutes, section 358.116 (2014) (codifying Minnesota Laws 2014, chapter 204, section 3). The statute allows the courts to require specifically by rule that notarization is necessary, but the difficulty in accomplishing and documenting notarization for documents that are e-filed and e-served militates against requiring formal notarization. Accordingly, cost applications may be signed by the party under penalty of perjury, so long as the appropriate language is included above the party's signature. The rule also requires inclusion of the date of signing and the county and state where signed to provide information necessary to establish the fact and venue of possible perjury; this information is otherwise provided by notarization. Rule 15 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice provides that documents signed in accordance with its terms constitute "affidavits."