Minnesota Session Laws - 2004, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 190-H.F.No. 1425 
                  An act relating to judgments; regulating stays of 
                  execution on money judgments; limiting bond amounts; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 550.36. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 550.36, is 
        amended to read: 
           550.36 [STAY OF EXECUTION ON MONEY JUDGMENT.] 
           (a) This section is an alternative to the Minnesota Rule of 
        Civil Appellate Procedure, section 108.01, subdivision 3.  
        Execution of a judgment for the payment of money only shall be 
        stayed for six months during the course of all appeals or 
        discretionary appellate reviews of a judgment if, within ten 
        days after the entry thereof, the judgment debtor shall file 
        with the court administrator a bond, running to the judgment 
        creditor, the creditor's personal representatives and assigns,.  
        The amount of the bond must be in double the amount of the 
        judgment, to be approved by the court, and or a lesser amount 
        approved by the court in the interests of justice.  The total 
        appeal bond that is required of all appellants must not exceed 
        $150,000,000, regardless of the value of the judgment.  The bond 
        must be conditioned for the payment of the judgment, with 
        interest during the time for which the stay is granted.  
        Interest shall be computed in the same manner and at the same 
        rate provided for interest on verdicts in section 549.09.  
        Within two days thereafter notice that such bond has been filed, 
        with a copy of the same, shall be served on the judgment 
        creditor, if the creditor be a resident of the county, or upon 
        the creditor's agent or attorney, if the creditor has one, and 
        the judgment creditor may except to the sufficiency of the bond; 
        and, upon the creditor's application upon notice or order to 
        show cause, the court, if it find the bond insufficient, may 
        order execution to issue notwithstanding the same, unless the 
        judgment debtor give such further bond as it shall deem 
        sufficient.  If the condition of any such bond be not performed, 
        the execution shall issue for the amount of the judgment, with 
        interest and costs, against the judgment debtor and the 
        sureties.  When an execution issues against sureties the officer 
        shall certify in the return what amount, if any, was collected 
        from them and the date thereof.  If a stay be granted after 
        execution issued, any levy made thereon shall be released and 
        the execution shall be returned and the reason noted by the 
        officer. 
           (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if a judgment creditor 
        provides evidence that a judgment debtor may be dissipating 
        assets to avoid payment of a judgment, a court may enter orders 
        that: 
           (1) are necessary to protect the judgment creditor; and 
           (2) require the judgment debtor to post a bond in an amount 
        up to the total amount of the judgment. 
           Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
           Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment 
        and applies to all cases pending on or filed after that date, 
        except for any case in which a judgment has been entered and is 
        under appeal as of that date or is the subject of a petition for 
        discretionary review as of that date. 
           Presented to the governor May 10, 2004 
           Signed by the governor May 13, 2004, 11:50 a.m.