1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to courts; requiring mandatory expungement of 
  1.3             certain eviction cases; allowing for discretionary 
  1.4             expungement in other cases; proposing coding for new 
  1.5             law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 484. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [484.014] [HOUSING RECORDS; EXPUNGEMENT OF 
  1.8   EVICTION INFORMATION.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purpose of this 
  1.10  section the following terms have the meanings given: 
  1.11     (a) "Expunge" means to seal the court file and remove 
  1.12  evidence of the file's existence from the publicly accessible 
  1.13  computer and electronic records. 
  1.14     (b) "Delete the name" means to remove the name from the 
  1.15  caption of an eviction case and to remove evidence of the name's 
  1.16  association with the court file from the publicly accessible 
  1.17  computer and electronic records. 
  1.18     (c) "Eviction case" means an action brought under sections 
  1.19  566.01 to 566.17. 
  1.20     (d) "Court file" means the court file created when an 
  1.21  eviction case is filed with the court. 
  1.22     Subd. 2.  [MANDATORY EXPUNGEMENT.] The court shall expunge, 
  1.23  without motion by the defendant, an eviction case court file at 
  1.24  such time as the court becomes aware that one of the following 
  1.25  is true: 
  2.1      (1) the court lacks either subject-matter jurisdiction in 
  2.2   the case or personal jurisdiction over the defendant; 
  2.3      (2) the case was filed by mistake; 
  2.4      (3) the case is frivolous or filed in bad faith; 
  2.5      (4) the plantiff does not appear at the initial hearing; or 
  2.6      (5) the defendant prevails in the case on the basis of the 
  2.7   defenses set out in Minnesota Statutes, section 566.03, 
  2.8   subdivision 2 or 3; or 566.28. 
  2.9      Subd. 3.  [MANDATORY NAME DELETION.] At such time as the 
  2.10  court becomes aware that one of the following is true, the court 
  2.11  shall delete the name: 
  2.12     (1) the court lacks personal jurisdiction over the 
  2.13  defendant whose name is to be deleted; 
  2.14     (2) the name was included in the case caption by mistake; 
  2.15     (3) the name was included in the case caption in bad faith; 
  2.16  or 
  2.17     (4) the plaintiff asks the court to remove the name from 
  2.18  the case caption prior to the initial hearing. 
  2.19     Subd. 4.  [DISCRETIONARY EXPUNGEMENT.] Upon motion of a 
  2.20  defendant, in cases where expungement is not required under 
  2.21  subdivision 2, the court may order expungement of an eviction 
  2.22  case court file if it is in the interests of justice and those 
  2.23  interests are not outweighed by the public's interest in knowing 
  2.24  about the record.