Court Opinion

ID: 9717228
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:00:26.867447+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:52.108634
License: Public Domain

WAHL, Justice
(dissenting in part, concurring in part).
I respectfully dissent from that part of the majority opinion which affirms the dismissal of the appeal of Evan J. Henry. As with the notices of appeal of the three nonparties, Henry’s notice of appeal was timely and adequately served upon the other interested parties in a form which sufficiently apprised those parties of the nature of the appeal. The notice of appeal was timely received by the clerk of district court. Minnesota Statutes § 216.25 (1982) does not say that the filing fee must also be received within the required 30-day appeal period in order for the notice of appeal to be “filed” by the person appealing. Henry sent the filing fee immediately upon being notified by the clerk of court. The clerk received the fee two days beyond the deadline and at that point stamped “filed” on the notice of appeal.
It is true that payment of fees is a required part of the filing process, but a minor delinquency in the payment of a fee does not necessarily justify a denial of jurisdiction. As we stated in City of Minneapolis v. Wurtele, 291 N.W.2d 386, 391 (Minn.1980), “the law does not mandate in all cases strict and literal compliance with all procedural requirements.’’ Where, as here, the appellant erred in good faith, and where his error neither undermined the purpose of the procedures nor prejudiced the rights of other parties to the appeal, it would be harsh to deny him jurisdiction for a minor delay in his payment of a fee. I would reverse this dismissal as well as the others and reinstate Henry’s appeal.