How much notice must a Minnesota summary judgment motion give before the hearing?

At least 28 calendar days before the hearing under the default schedule for dispositive motions in Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.03(a). Even if the court shortens that schedule, the motion may not be served less than 14 calendar days before the hearing, an absolute floor set by Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56.02.

Does Minnesota require a separate statement of undisputed facts for summary judgment?

No standalone document. Instead, the movant's memorandum of law must include a recital of the material facts claimed to be undisputed, with a specific citation to the record for each fact, and the opposing party must make its own recital of any facts it claims are in dispute (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3)).

What standard does a Minnesota court use to decide a motion for summary judgment?

The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Minnesota kept this 'genuine issue' wording even after Rule 56 was comprehensively rewritten effective July 1, 2018 (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01).

Can a Minnesota court grant summary judgment to the party that didn't file the motion?

Yes. Rule 56.06 preserves the court's power to grant summary judgment for a nonmovant, on grounds not raised by a party, or on its own initiative, after notice (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.06).

Can a Minnesota summary judgment motion resolve only part of a case?

Yes. A party may move for summary judgment identifying each claim or defense, or part of a claim or defense, on which judgment is sought, and if the court does not grant full relief it may treat specific undisputed facts, including an item of damages, as established for the rest of the case (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01, 56.07).

Minnesota Motion for Summary Judgment

Q: How long does a respondent have to reply to a motion for summary judgment in Minnesota?

The respondent, the party who received the motion, must file a memorandum of law with any affidavits and exhibits, plus its own recital of any material facts it claims are in dispute with citations to the record, at least 14 calendar days before the hearing date (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(b), (d)(3)).

Q: What happens in Minnesota if the other side doesn't respond to a motion for summary judgment?

It is not automatically granted. If response documents are not properly filed, Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.06 lets the court refuse to permit oral argument by the party that did not file them, or take other appropriate action, but the court must still find no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01).

Q: Is there a deadline for filing a motion for summary judgment in Minnesota?

Yes. A party may not file a motion for summary judgment more than 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless the court orders otherwise. This cutoff is keyed to the close of discovery, not to the trial date (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02).

Q: Does this page cover a motion for summary judgment in federal court in Minnesota?

No. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Minnesota state district court under Rule 56. A motion for summary judgment in federal court, including federal courts sitting in Minnesota, follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and federal court rules rather than Minnesota Rule 56 and the Minnesota General Rules of Practice.

Minnesota requires 28 calendar days' notice before a summary judgment hearing, with the response due at least 14 calendar days before the hearing and any reply due at least 7 calendar days before the hearing, under General Rule of Practice 115.03, and a motion may not be filed more than 30 days after the close of all discovery under Rule 56.02.

Find out where you stand in Minnesota

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Introduction

In Minnesota, the party moving for summary judgment must file its notice of motion and motion, proposed order, affidavits and exhibits, and memorandum of law with the court administrator at least 28 calendar days before the hearing date, the default schedule for all dispositive motions under Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.03(a). That 28-day default sits on top of an absolute statutory floor in Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56.02: even if the court shortens the schedule, the motion may not be served less than 14 calendar days before the hearing. Both figures are calendar days, counted under Minn. R. Civ. P. 6.01(a)(1)(B), meaning every day is counted, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays; service by mail adds 3 calendar days, and service after 5:00 p.m. by other means adds 1 calendar day (Minn. R. Civ. P. 6.01(e)). The opposing party's response, a memorandum of law with any supporting affidavits and exhibits, plus its own recital of any material facts it claims are in dispute with citations to the record, is due at least 14 calendar days before the hearing, counted backward from the hearing date (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(b), (d)(3)). The moving party may then file a reply memorandum, limited to new legal or factual matters raised in the response, at least 7 calendar days before the hearing (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(c)). Separately, Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56.02 sets a filing cutoff keyed to discovery rather than to the trial date: a party may not file a motion for summary judgment more than 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless the court orders otherwise. Motion practice under Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115 is built around a hearing; the expedited, informal motion process available for nondispositive motions does not apply to summary judgment, which the rule defines as dispositive. The standard itself, unchanged by the 2018 rewrite of Rule 56, keeps Minnesota's own wording: the court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01). Rule 56 as a whole was comprehensively rewritten effective July 1, 2018, closely tracking the structure of the 2010 federal Rule 56 amendments, though Minnesota deliberately retained its 'genuine issue' language rather than adopting the federal 'genuine dispute' phrasing. Minnesota has no standalone, separately captioned separate statement of undisputed facts. Instead, the movant's memorandum of law must include a recital of the material facts claimed to be undisputed, with a specific citation to the supporting part of the record for each fact, and the opposing party must, in like manner, recite any material facts it claims are in dispute (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3)). That recital is excluded from the 35-page limit that otherwise applies to each memorandum, and if a reply is filed, the movant's original memorandum and reply together are capped at 35 pages cumulative absent court permission (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d), 115.05). Minnesota has no Texas-style no-evidence motion as a separately named procedure, but Rule 56.05 lets the court treat a fact as undisputed if a party fails to properly support or dispute it, and Rule 56.06 preserves the court's power to grant summary judgment to a nonmovant, on grounds not raised by a party, or on its own initiative, after notice. Partial summary judgment is expressly built into the base rule: a party may move on each claim or defense, or part of one, and if the court does not grant full relief it may treat specific undisputed facts as established for the rest of the case (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01, 56.07). Both the mover and the respondent need to track these deadlines and serve each other: if response documents are not properly filed, the court may refuse to permit oral argument by the party that did not file them, or take other appropriate action, but that failure is not an automatic default for a dispositive motion like summary judgment. Summary judgment practice is technical and is frequently lost on procedure rather than the merits, and a motion is not automatically granted just because the other side does not respond; the court must still find no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Attorney review is available before you file or respond. This page covers a civil motion for summary judgment in a Minnesota state district court under Rule 56. It does not cover a motion to dismiss or a motion to set aside a default judgment, which are different procedures, and it does not cover summary judgment in federal court, including federal courts sitting in Minnesota, which follows Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 rather than this state rule.

Key Things to Know

1
Minnesota requires 28 calendar days' notice before a summary judgment hearing, the response is due at least 14 calendar days before the hearing, and any reply is due at least 7 calendar days before the hearing, all calendar days under Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.03, with an absolute 14-calendar-day statutory floor under Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56.02 even if the court shortens the default schedule.
2
If you were served with a Minnesota summary judgment motion, your response, a memorandum of law with any affidavits and exhibits, plus your own recital of any material facts you claim are in dispute with citations to the record, is due at least 14 calendar days before the hearing date, counted backward from the hearing rather than forward from the date of service (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(b), (d)(3)).
3
An unopposed Minnesota summary judgment motion is not automatically granted. Even if the opposing party files nothing, or files its papers late, Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.06 lets the court refuse oral argument to the non-filing party or take other appropriate action, but the court must still find no genuine issue as to any material fact before entering judgment (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01).
4
Minnesota's summary judgment standard keeps the state's own 'genuine issue as to any material fact' wording rather than the federal 'genuine dispute' phrasing, even after Rule 56 was comprehensively rewritten effective July 1, 2018 to track the structure of the 2010 federal amendments (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.01).
5
A Minnesota summary judgment motion may not be filed more than 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless the court orders otherwise, a cutoff keyed to the close of discovery rather than to the trial date (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02).
6
Minnesota has no standalone separate statement of undisputed facts. Instead, the required recital of undisputed material facts, with a citation to the record for each fact, is embedded inside the movant's memorandum of law itself, and is excluded from the 35-page memorandum limit (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3), 115.05).
7
Minnesota has no Texas-style no-evidence motion, but Rule 56.05 lets the court treat a fact as undisputed if a party fails to properly support or dispute it, and Rule 56.06 preserves the court's power to grant summary judgment to a nonmovant on its own initiative after notice. This page covers only a Minnesota state district court motion for summary judgment, not a motion to dismiss, not a motion to set aside a default judgment, and not a federal court motion, which follows a different rule.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Summary Judgment in Minnesota, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Summary Judgment guide walks through them.

Open the Motion for Summary Judgment guide

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STATE OF MINNESOTA COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

DISTRICT COURT [JUDICIAL DISTRICT] JUDICIAL DISTRICT

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff,

[DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

Court File No. [COURT FILE NUMBER] Case Type: [CASE TYPE]

NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [IF APPLICABLE: OR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT]

TO: [NAME OF OPPOSING PARTY OR COUNSEL OF RECORD]

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on [HEARING DATE], at [HEARING TIME], before the Honorable [JUDGE NAME], at [LOCATION OF HEARING], [MOVING PARTY NAME], [PLAINTIFF OR DEFENDANT], will move the Court under Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56 for summary judgment [IF APPLICABLE: as to the following claim or defense, or part of a claim or defense: DESCRIPTION OF THE CLAIM OR DEFENSE], on the ground that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and Movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

This motion is based on this Notice of Motion and Motion, the Memorandum of Law and recital of undisputed material facts filed with it, the supporting affidavits and exhibits, the proposed order, and all files and records in this action.

I. GROUNDS

There is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and Movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, for the following reasons:

[NUMBERED GROUNDS, EACH IDENTIFYING THE ELEMENT ESTABLISHED AS A MATTER OF LAW]

II. RECITAL OF UNDISPUTED MATERIAL FACTS

As required by Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.03(d)(3), the Memorandum of Law filed with this motion includes a recital of the material facts as to which there is no genuine issue, with a specific citation to the part of the record supporting each fact.

III. ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES

[SHORT MEMORANDUM OF LAW APPLYING THE GOVERNING LAW TO THE UNDISPUTED FACTS RECITED IN THE MEMORANDUM OF LAW]

IV. RELIEF REQUESTED

Movant asks the Court to grant this motion and enter judgment in Movant's favor on [ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES, OR THE SPECIFIC CLAIMS OR DEFENSES IDENTIFIED ABOVE], and for such other relief as the Court deems just.

Dated: [DATE OF SIGNING]

Respectfully submitted,

[SIGNATURE] [NAME OF MOVANT OR ATTORNEY] [ADDRESS] [CITY, MINNESOTA ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL] [ATTORNEY REGISTRATION NUMBER, IF AN ATTORNEY]

PROPOSED ORDER

A separate proposed order granting this motion is filed with these papers, as required by Minnesota General Rule of Practice 115.03(a)(2).

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [DATE OF SERVICE], being at least 28 calendar days before the hearing date set above, or, if the Court has shortened this period, not less than 14 calendar days before the hearing as required by Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 56.02, a true and correct copy of this Notice of Motion and Motion, Memorandum of Law with its recital of undisputed material facts, supporting affidavits and exhibits, and proposed order was served on [NAME OF EACH OTHER PARTY OR COUNSEL OF RECORD] by [METHOD OF SERVICE].

[SIGNATURE] [NAME]

Minnesota Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

28-Calendar-Day Notice, With a 14-Day Statutory Floor
The moving party must file its notice of motion and motion, proposed order, affidavits and exhibits, and memorandum of law at least 28 calendar days before the hearing under the default schedule for dispositive motions, and even if the court shortens that schedule, the motion may in no event be served less than 14 calendar days before the hearing (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(a); Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02).
14-Calendar-Day Response Deadline Counted Backward From the Hearing
The responding party must file its memorandum of law, any affidavits and exhibits, and its own recital of any disputed material facts at least 14 calendar days before the hearing date (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(b), (d)(3)).
7-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline Limited to New Matters
The moving party may file a reply memorandum at least 7 calendar days before the hearing, limited to new legal or factual matters raised in the opposing party's response (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(c)).
Filing Cutoff: No Later Than 30 Days After the Close of All Discovery
A party may not file a motion for summary judgment more than 30 days after the close of all discovery, unless the court orders otherwise, a cutoff keyed to the close of discovery rather than the trial date (Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02).
Recital of Undisputed Material Facts Embedded in the Memorandum
Minnesota has no standalone separate statement of undisputed facts. The movant's memorandum of law must instead include a recital of the material facts claimed to be undisputed, with a specific citation to the supporting part of the record for each fact, and the opposing party must make its own recital of any facts it claims are in dispute (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3)).
35-Page Memorandum Limit, Exclusive of the Recital of Facts
No memorandum of law in a dispositive motion may exceed 35 pages, exclusive of the recital of material facts required by Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3); if a reply is filed, the movant's original memorandum and reply together are capped at 35 pages cumulative absent court permission (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d), 115.05).
Failure to File Response Papers Is Not an Automatic Default
If response documents are not properly filed for a dispositive motion, the court may refuse to permit oral argument by the party that did not file them, or take other appropriate action, but that failure is not treated as an automatic default the way it can be for a nondispositive motion (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.06).
Proposed Order Must Accompany the Motion
The moving party must file a proposed order along with the notice of motion and motion, affidavits and exhibits, and memorandum of law (Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(a)(2)).

Find out where you stand in Minnesota

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Summary Judgment Template with DocDraft

Minnesota Requirements for Motion for Summary Judgment

28-Calendar-Day Notice, With a 14-Day Statutory Floor

14-Calendar-Day Response Deadline Counted Backward From the Hearing

7-Calendar-Day Reply Deadline Limited to New Matters

Filing Cutoff: No Later Than 30 Days After the Close of All Discovery

Recital of Undisputed Material Facts Embedded in the Memorandum

35-Page Memorandum Limit, Exclusive of the Recital of Facts

Failure to File Response Papers Is Not an Automatic Default

Proposed Order Must Accompany the Motion

Frequently Asked Questions