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Rule 53.02 – Order Appointing Master

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Minnesota

(a) Notice. The court must give the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard before appointing a master. A party may suggest candidates for appointment.
(b) Contents. The order appointing a master must direct the master to proceed with all reasonable diligence and must state:

(1) the master’s duties, including any investigation or enforcement duties, and any limits on the master’s authority under Rule 53.03;
(2) the circumstances-if any-in which the master may communicate ex parte with the court or a party;
(3) the nature of the materials to be preserved and filed as the record of the master’s activities;
(4) the time limits, method of filing the record, other procedures, and standards for reviewing the master’s orders, findings, and recommendations;
(5) the basis, terms, and procedure for fixing the master’s compensation under Rule 53.08; and
(6) the extent to which, if at all, the parties and the master must use the court’s E-Filing System in the proceedings before the master.
(c) Entry of Order. The court may enter the order appointing a master only after the master has filed an affidavit disclosing whether there is any ground for disqualification and, if a ground for disqualification is disclosed, after the parties have consented with the court’s approval to waive the disqualification.
(d) Amendment. The order appointing a master may be amended at any time after notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard.

Minn. R. Civ. P. 53.02

Amended effective July 1, 2015.
Advisory Committee Comment–2015 Amendments
Rule 53.02(b) is amended to add a new subdivision (6) that expressly requires the court’s appointment order to address the extent to which the parties and an appointed master must use the court’s E-Filing System. This provision recognizes that a particular master may not otherwise be a registered user of the court’s E-Filing System, and it may be appropriate either to direct that the parties and the master use the system for all service and filing or in the rare case, to excuse the master and parties from doing so.