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Rule 45.01 – Form; Issuance

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Minnesota

(a) Form. Every subpoena shall

(1) state the name of the court from which it is issued; and
(2) state the title of the action, the name of the court in which it is pending, and its court file number, if one has been assigned; and
(3) command each person to whom it is directed to attend and give testimony or to produce and permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of designated books, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody or control of that person, or to permit inspection of premises, at a time and place therein specified; and
(4) contain a notice to the person to whom it is directed advising that person of the right to reimbursement for certain expenses pursuant to Rule 45.03(d), and the right to have the amount of those expenses determined prior to compliance with the subpoena.

A command to produce evidence or to permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling may be joined with a command to appear at trial or hearing or at deposition, or may be issued separately. A subpoena may specify the form or forms in which electronically stored information is to be produced.

(b) Subpoenas Issued In Name of Court. A subpoena commanding attendance at a trial or hearing, for attendance at a deposition, or for production or inspection, copying, testing, or sampling shall be issued in the name of the court where the action is pending.
(c) Issuance by Court or by Attorney. The court administrator shall issue a subpoena, signed but otherwise in blank, to a party requesting it, who shall complete it before service. An attorney as officer of the court may also issue and sign a subpoena on behalf of the court where the action is pending.
(d) Subpoena for Taking Deposition, Action Pending in Foreign Jurisdiction. A subpoena for attendance at a deposition to be taken in Minnesota for an action pending in a foreign jurisdiction may be issued by the court administrator or by an attorney admitted to practice in Minnesota in the name of the court for the county in which the deposition will be taken, provided that the deposition is allowed and has been properly noticed under the law of the jurisdiction in which the action is pending. The subpoena may command the person to whom it is directed to produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things that constitute or contain matters within the scope of the examination permitted by the law of the jurisdiction in which the action is pending, but in that event, the subpoena will be subject to the provisions of Rules 26.03 and 45.03(b)(2).
(e) Notice to Parties. Any use of a subpoena, other than to compel attendance at a trial, without prior notice to all parties to the action, is improper and may subject the party or attorney issuing it, or on whose behalf it was issued, to sanctions.

Minn. R. Civ. P. 45.01

Amended effective July 1, 2007.