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Rule 303.01 – Scheduling of Motions

May 13, 2021 | Family Law, Minnesota

(a) Notice of Obtaining Hearing Date. Except in cases in which the parties reside in the same residence and there is a possibility of abuse, a party who obtains a date and time for hearing a motion shall promptly give written notice of the hearing date and time, name of the judicial officer, if known, and the primary issue(s) to be addressed at the hearing to all parties in the action. If the parties reside in the same residence and there is a possibility of abuse, notice shall be given in accordance with the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure.
(b) Notice of Motion. All motions shall be accompanied by either an order to show cause in accordance with Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 303.05 or by a notice of motion which shall state, with particularity, the date, time, and place of the hearing and the name of the judicial officer if known, as assigned by the local assignment clerk.
(c) Notice of Time to Respond. All motions and orders to show cause shall contain the following statement:

The Rules establish deadlines for responding to motions. All responsive pleadings shall be served and filed with the court administrator no later than 7 days before the scheduled hearing. The court may, in its discretion, disregard any responsive pleadings served or filed with the court administrator less than 7 days before such hearing in ruling on the motion or matter in question.

Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 303.01

Amended effective July 1, 2015; amended effective January 1, 2020.

Family Court Rules Advisory Committee Commentary*

The scheduling of cases and the assignment of judges, judicial officers or referees is often a situation in which local calendaring practices prevail. Effective disposition of litigation requires immediate notice of the hearing officer’s identity to preclude last minute filing of notices to remove or affidavits of prejudice.

*Original Advisory Committee Comment–Not kept current.

Task Force Comment-1991 Adoption

Subdivision (a)(1) of this rule is derived from existing Rule 2.01 of the Rules of Family Court Procedure.

Subdivision (a)(2) is from the new Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.02. It is intended primarily to prevent a party from obtaining a hearing date and time weeks in advance of a hearing but then delaying giving notice until shortly before the hearing. This practice appears to give an unnecessary tactical advantage to one side. Additionally, by requiring that more than the minimum notice be given in many cases, it will be possible for the responding parties to set on for hearing any additional motions they may have. This may result in the more efficient hearing of multiple motions on a single hearing date.

Subdivision (b) of this rule is derived from Second Judicial District Rule 2.011.

Advisory Committee Comment-2012 Amendments

Rule 303.01 imposes a simple burden on any party, whether or not represented by counsel: to promptly advise the other parties when a hearing date is obtained from the court. The rule codifies common courtesy, but also serves specific purposes of reducing the need to reschedule motion hearings and permitting the other side to submit motions at the same hearing, if appropriate. “Promptly” is intentionally not rigidly defined, but notice should be sent the same day the hearing date is obtained. Notice of the assignment of a judicial officer also starts the time to remove an assigned judicial officer under Minn. R. Civ. P. 63.03 and Minn. Stat. ยง 542.16.

The Rule exempts a party from giving prior notice if there is a “possibility of abuse” and where the two parties share the same residence. This admittedly subjective standard is retained in the rule for the protection of victims of domestic violence. The trial court retains the authority to impose sanctions for the improper use of this exception.

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