Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 575-H.F.No. 1854 
           An act relating to public administration; validating 
          certain cancellation of contracts; validating certain 
          conveyances by religious corporations; allowing county 
          boards to set certain fees charged by the examiner of 
          titles; providing for the effect of dissolution on 
          joint tenancy; permitting the filing of summaries of 
          dissolution judgments in real estate filings; 
          clarifying provisions on certain liens by reordering 
          clauses; regulating conciliation court jurisdiction 
          limits; amending Minnesota Statutes 1988, sections 
          287.01, by adding a subdivision; 500.19, subdivision 
          5; and 514.12, subdivision 3; Minnesota Statutes 1989 
          Supplement, section 487.30, subdivision 1; Minnesota 
          Statutes Second 1989 Supplement, section 508A.82; Laws 
          1989, chapter 344, section 13, subdivision 1; 
          proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
          chapters 315, 518, and 559; repealing Minnesota 
          Statutes 1988, section 580.031. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 287.01, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 4.  [DECREE OF MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION.] "Decree of 
marriage dissolution" includes a summary real estate disposition 
judgment or an instrument made pursuant to it. 
     Sec. 2.  [315.121] [RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS, CERTAIN 
CONVEYANCES VALIDATED.] 
    All conveyances executed by any religious corporation 
organized under this chapter, conveying real property within 
this state that were recorded prior to July 1, 1984, in the 
office of the county recorder or registrar of titles of the 
county in which the real estate conveyed is located, and the 
record of the conveyance, are legalized, validated, and 
confirmed, even though the corporate records do not disclose 
that the execution of the conveyance was authorized by the 
congregation of the religious corporation in the manner provided 
by law, or the record of the authorization has not been recorded 
in the office of the county recorder or registrar of titles of 
the county in which the real estate conveyed is located. 
     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1989 Supplement, section 
487.30, subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
    Subdivision 1. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the 
conciliation court shall hear and determine civil claims if the 
amount of money or property which is the subject matter of the 
claim does not exceed $3,500 for the determination thereof 
without jury trial and by a simple and informal procedure.  The 
rules of the supreme court shall provide for a right of appeal 
from the decision of the conciliation court to the county court 
for a trial on the merits.  The territorial jurisdiction of a 
conciliation court shall be coextensive with the county in which 
the court is established. 
    (b) If the claim involves a consumer credit transaction, 
the amount of money or property that is the subject matter of 
the claim may not exceed $2,000 $2,500.  "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. 
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 500.19, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  [SEVERANCE OF ESTATES IN JOINT TENANCY.] A 
severance of a joint tenancy interest in real estate by a joint 
tenant shall be legally effective only if (1) the instrument of 
severance is recorded in the office of the county recorder or 
the registrar of titles in the county where the real estate is 
situated; or (2) the instrument of severance is executed by all 
of the joint tenants; or (3) the severance is ordered by a court 
of competent jurisdiction; or (4) a severance is effected 
pursuant to bankruptcy of a joint tenant.  
    A decree of dissolution of a marriage severs all joint 
tenancy interests in real estate between the parties to the 
marriage, except to the extent the decree declares that the 
parties continue to hold an interest in real estate as joint 
tenants. 
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes Second 1989 Supplement, section 
508A.82, is amended to read: 
     508A.82 [REGISTRAR'S FEES.] 
     The fees to be paid to the registrar shall be as follows:  
     (1) of the fees provided herein, five percent of the fees 
collected under clauses (3), (4), (11), (13), (14), (15), and 
(17), for filing or memorializing shall be paid to the state 
treasurer and credited to the general fund; 
     (2) for registering each original CPT, and issuing a 
duplicate of it, $20; 
     (3) for registering each instrument transferring the fee 
simple title for which a new CPT is issued and for the issuance 
and registration of the new CPT, $20; 
     (4) for the entry of each memorial on a certificate and 
endorsements upon duplicate CPTs, $10; 
     (5) for issuing each mortgagee's or lessee's duplicate, 
$10; 
     (6) for issuing each residue CPT, $20; 
     (7) for exchange CPTs, $10 for each CPT canceled and $10 
for each new CPT issued; 
     (8) for each certificate showing condition of the register, 
$10; 
     (9) for any certified copy of any instrument or writing on 
file in the registrar's office, the same fees allowed by law to 
county recorders for like services; 
     (10) for a noncertified copy of any instrument or writing 
on file in the office of the registrar of titles, or any 
specified page or part of it, an amount as determined by the 
county board for each page or fraction of a page specified.  If 
computer or microfilm printers are used to reproduce the 
instrument or writing, a like amount per image; 
       (11) for filing two copies of any plat in the office of the 
registrar, $30; 
       (12) for any other service under sections 508A.01 to 
508A.85, the fee the court shall determine; 
      (13) for issuing a duplicate CPT pursuant to the directive 
of the examiner of titles in counties in which the compensation 
of the examiner is paid in the same manner as the compensation 
of other county employees, $50, plus $10 to memorialize; 
      (14) for issuing a duplicate CPT pursuant to the directive 
of the examiner of titles in counties in which the compensation 
of the examiner is not paid by the county or pursuant to an 
order of the court, $10; 
    (15) for filing a condominium plat or an amendment to it in 
accordance with chapter 515, $30; 
    (16) for a copy of a condominium plat filed pursuant to 
chapters 515 and 515A, the fee shall be $1 for each page of the 
plat with a minimum fee of $10; 
    (17) for filing a condominium declaration and condominium 
plat or an amendment to it in accordance with chapter 515A, $10 
for each certificate upon which the document is registered and 
$30 for the filing of the condominium plat or an amendment to 
it; 
    (18) in counties in which the compensation of the examiner 
of titles is paid in the same manner as the compensation of 
other county employees, for each parcel of land contained in the 
application for a CPT, as the number of parcels is determined by 
the examiner, $50 a fee which is reasonable and which reflects 
the actual cost to the county, established by the board of 
county commissioners of the county in which the land is located; 
    (19) for filing a registered land survey in triplicate in 
accordance with section 508A.47, subdivision 4, $30; 
    (20) for furnishing a certified copy of a registered land 
survey in accordance with section 508A.47, subdivision 4, $10. 
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 514.12, 
subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 3.  [ONE-YEAR LIMITATION.] No lien shall be enforced 
in any case unless the holder thereof shall assert the same, 
either by filing a complaint or answer with the court 
administrator, within one year after the date of the last item 
of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement; and, 
no person shall be bound by any judgment in such action unless 
made a party thereto within the year; and, as to a bona fide 
purchaser, mortgagee, or encumbrancer without notice, the 
absence from the record of a notice of lis pendens of an action 
after the expiration of the year in which the lien could be so 
asserted shall be conclusive evidence that the lien may no 
longer be enforced and, in the case of registered land, the 
registrar of titles shall refrain from carrying forward to new 
certificates of title the memorials of lien statements when no 
such notice of lis pendens has been registered within the 
period; nor shall any person be bound by the judgment in such 
action unless made a party thereto within the year. 
    Sec. 7.  [518.191] [SUMMARY REAL ESTATE DISPOSITION 
JUDGMENT.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [ABBREVIATED JUDGMENT AND DECREE.] If real 
estate is described in a judgment and decree of dissolution, the 
court may direct either of the parties or their legal counsel to 
prepare and submit to the court a proposed summary real estate 
disposition judgment.  Upon approval by the court and filing of 
the summary real estate disposition judgment with the court 
administrator, the court administrator shall provide to any 
party upon request certified copies of the summary real estate 
disposition judgment. 
    Subd. 2.  [REQUIRED INFORMATION.] A summary real estate 
disposition judgment must contain the following information:  
(1) the full caption and file number of the case and the title 
"Summary Real Estate Disposition Judgment"; (2) the dates of the 
parties' marriage and of the entry of the judgment and decree of 
dissolution; (3) the names of the parties' attorneys or if 
either or both appeared pro-se; (4) the name of the judge and 
referee, if any, who signed the order for judgment and decree; 
(5) whether the judgment and decree resulted from a stipulation, 
a default, or a trial and the appearances at the default or 
trial; (6) whether either party changed the party's name through 
the judgment and decree; (7) the legal description of each 
parcel of real estate; (8) the name or names of the persons 
awarded an interest in each parcel of real estate and a 
description of the interest awarded; (9) liens, mortgages, 
encumbrances, or other interests in the real estate described in 
the judgment and decree; and (10) triggering or contingent 
events set forth in the judgment and decree affecting the 
disposition of each parcel of real estate. 
    Subd. 3.  [COURT ORDER.] An order or provision in a 
judgment and decree that provides that the judgment and decree 
must be recorded in the office of the county recorder or filed 
in the office of the registrar of titles means, if a summary 
real estate disposition judgment has been approved by the court, 
that the summary real estate disposition judgment, rather than 
the judgment and decree, must be recorded in the office of the 
county recorder or filed in the office of the registrar of 
titles. 
    Subd. 4.  [TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.] The summary real estate 
disposition judgment operates as a conveyance and transfer of 
each interest in the real estate in the manner and to the extent 
described in the summary real estate disposition judgment. 
    Subd. 5.  [CONFLICT.] If a conflict exists between the 
judgment and decree and the summary real estate disposition 
judgment, the summary real estate disposition judgment recorded 
in the office of the county recorder or filed in the office of 
the registrar of titles controls as to the interest acquired in 
real estate by any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for a 
valuable consideration, who is in possession of the interest or 
whose interest is recorded with the county recorder or registrar 
of titles, before the recording of the judgment and decree in 
the same office. 
    Sec. 8.  [559.215] [CONTRACTS OF SALE; VALIDATING 
TERMINATIONS OF CONTRACT OF SALE.] 
    Every termination of a contract for the conveyance of real 
property or an interest in real property where service of notice 
of default is published for the first time or is served on the 
purchaser, or the purchaser's personal representative or assigns 
before the date in section 9 is legal and valid as against the 
following objections: 
    (1) that prior to the service of notice of termination, no 
mortgage registration tax was paid on the contract, or an 
insufficient registration tax was paid on the contract; 
    (2) that the notice: 
    (i) did not correctly state the amount of attorney fees; 
    (ii) failed to state or incorrectly stated the names of one 
or more of the sellers, or the sellers' successors or assigns, 
or incorrectly described the interest or representative capacity 
of the person giving the notice; 
    (iii) was printed or typed in an incorrect type size; or 
    (iv) incorrectly stated the number of days after service 
that the contract will terminate, provided that the number of 
days stated is not less than 30 days; 
    (3) that the cancellation was commenced by less than all 
sellers; or 
    (4) that in the case of a termination by publication the 
notice was not served on all persons in possession of the real 
estate, provided it was served on at least one of those persons. 
    Sec. 9.  [559.216] [EFFECTIVE DATES.] 
    The following dates apply to section 8: 
    (1) as to clause (2)(iv) and clause (3), August 1, 1985; 
and 
    (2) as to the general provisions of section 8, May 1, 1989. 
     Sec. 10.  Laws 1989, chapter 344, section 13, subdivision 
1, is amended to read:  
    Sec. 13.  [CONCILIATION COURT JURISDICTION AMOUNTS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [INCREASE IN LIMITS.] The conciliation 
court jurisdictional limits provided in sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 
and 10, other than the $2,500 limit for actions involving 
consumer credit transactions, shall increase to $4,000 on July 
1, 1990. 
    Sec. 11.  [REPEALER.] 
    Minnesota Statutes 1988, section 580.031, is repealed 
retroactive to May 1, 1989. 
    Sec. 12.  [EFFECTIVE DATES.] 
    Sections 2 and 4 to 8 do not affect any action or 
proceeding pending on their effective date or that is commenced 
before February 1, 1991, involving the validity of the 
termination or conveyance. 
     Section 3 is effective July 1, 1990. 
    Sections 10 and 11 are effective the day following final 
enactment. 
    Presented to the governor April 26, 1990 
    Signed by the governor May 4, 1990, 11:47 p.m.