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GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 365.Decision and Order of Child Support Magistrate

Rule 365.01Failure to Attend Hearing

If a party fails to appear at a hearing for which notice was properly served, the child support magistrate may:

(a) decide all issues and issue an order without further notice or hearing;

(b) dismiss the matter without prejudice; or

(c) continue the hearing.

Rule 365.02Timing

Within 30 days of the close of the record the child support magistrate shall file with the court a decision and order. Court Administration may serve the order upon the parties at the hearing.

(Amended effective January 1, 2020; amended effective November 22, 2023.)

Advisory Committee Comment - 2023 Amendments

Rule 365.02 is modified in 2023 to recognize that court staff serve the orders that the magistrates sign and file.

Rule 365.03Effective Date; Final Order

Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the decision and order of the child support magistrate is effective and final when signed by the child support magistrate.

Rule 365.04Notice of Filing of Order or Notice of Entry of Judgment

Subdivision 1.Service by Court Administrator.

Within 7 days of receipt of the decision and order of the child support magistrate the court administrator shall serve a notice of filing of order or notice of entry of judgment upon each party by U.S. mail, together with a copy of the order or judgment if a copy of the order was not served at the hearing. The court administrator shall use the notice of filing form prepared by the state court administrator which shall set forth the information required in subdivision 2. The notices shall be sent by electronic means in accordance with Rule 14 to any party who has agreed to or is required to accept electronic service under Rule 14.

Subd. 2.Content of Notice.

The notice required in subdivision 1 shall include information regarding the:

(a) right to bring a motion to correct clerical mistakes pursuant to Rule 375;

(b) right to bring a motion for review of the decision and order of the child support magistrate pursuant to Rule 376;

(c) right to appeal a final order or judgment of the child support magistrate directly to the court of appeals pursuant to Rule 378;

(d) right of other parties to respond to motions to correct clerical mistakes, motions for review, and appeals pursuant to Rules 377 and 378; and

(e) authority of the child support magistrate to award costs and fees if the magistrate determines that a motion to correct clerical mistakes or a motion for review is not made in good faith or is brought for purposes of delay or harassment pursuant to Rule 377.09, subd. 6.

Subd. 3.Court Administrator Computes Dates.

The court administrator shall compute, and set forth in the notice required in subdivision 1, the last day for bringing a motion for review and the last day for bringing any response to such motion.

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

Advisory Committee Comment

Timing and Procedure for Bringing Motions. The timing for bringing a motion for review differs from the timing for bringing an appeal to the Court of Appeals. Under Rule 377.02, the time within which to bring a motion for review is twenty (20) days, which begins to run on the date the court administrator serves the notice of filing of order or notice of entry of judgment.

Timing and Procedure for Bringing an Appeal to Court of Appeals. Rule 104.01 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure provides that the time within which to bring an appeal to the Court of Appeals is sixty (60) days which begins to run on the date of service by any party upon any other party of written notice of the filing of the order or entry of the judgment. The Advisory Committee intends that Rule 378.01 supersede Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 104.01 to provide that the sixty (60) days begins to run on the date the court administrator serves the written notice of filing of the order or notice of entry of judgment.

Options for Review and Appeal. A party may choose to bring a motion to correct clerical mistakes, a motion for review, or a combined motion, or may choose to appeal directly to the Court of Appeals thus bypassing the first two options. However, if a party chooses the option of appealing directly to the Court of Appeals without first bringing a motion for review, such an appeal will be limited to determining whether the evidence sustains the findings of fact (to which the "clearly erroneous" standard of review applies) and whether the findings support the conclusions of law and the judgment. Kahn v. Tronnier, 547 N.W.2d 425, 428 (Minn. App.), rev. denied (Minn. July 10, 1996). Thus, although a motion for review is very important to obtaining the broadest possible appellate review, it is not an absolute prerequisite to appeal; a litigant can choose to file a direct appeal from the order of the child support magistrate, but the appeal will be limited to issues within that narrower scope of review.