Legal Memorandum: Stipulated Judgments in MN

Issue: Whether a defendant can challenge the standing of another party’s interest in a stipulated judgment if the defendant cannot demonstrate its own interest in the property.

In the context of a motion to dismiss, this is a potentially thorny issue.  In general, every plaintiff must “demonstrate ‘injury in fact’ –a harm that is both ‘concrete’ and ‘actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.'”  Hanson v. Woolston, 701 N.W.2d 257, 262 (Minn. Ct. App. 2005) (quoting Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 155 (1990)).  “A potential litigant must also demonstrate a fairly traceable connection between the alleged injury in fact and the defendants’ alleged conduct and a substantial likelihood that the requested relief will remedy that injury in fact.”  Id. 

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(e) will be granted “only if it appears to a certainty that no facts, which could be introduced consistent with the pleading, exist which would support the relief demanded.”  No. States Power Co. v. Franklin, 265 Minn. 391, 395, 122 N.W.2d 26, 29 (1963).  Additionally, if facts not appearing on the face of the pleading are offered in support of the motion, the court will treat it as one for summary judgment under Rule 56.  Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02.  In such cases, “all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56.”  Id.; see also Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.06 (“Should it appear from the affidavits of a party opposing the motion that the party cannot for reasons stated present, by […]