Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 515
The court administrator shall promptly enter judgment as ordered by the judge. The judgment shall be dated as of the date notice is sent to the parties. The judgment so entered becomes finally effective 21 days after the transmission of the notice, unless:
As authorized by law, any judgment ordered may provide for satisfaction by payment in installments in amounts and at times, as the judge determines. Should any installment not be paid when due, the entire unpaid balance of the judgment ordered, becomes immediately due and payable.
Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 515
1993 Committee Comment
Rule 515 provides that a judgment becomes finally effective 20 days after notice ofjudgment is mailed to the parties, and the law requires that an additional three days be added to the time period when notice is served by mail. Wilkins v. City of Glencoe, 479 N.W.2d 430 (Minnesota Appellate 1992) (construing Rule 6.05 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure). Computing the effective date of the judgment can be difficult and confusing for lay persons, and Rule 514attempts to alleviate this problem by requiring the court administrator to perform the computation and specify the resulting date in the notice of order for judgment, taking into consideration applicable rules, including Rule 503 of these rules and Rule 6.05 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure. The purpose of the 20-day time period specified in Rule 515 is to permit a party to obtain an order to vacate under Rule 520(a) or effect removal of the case to district court under Rule 521(b).
The legislature has determined that any judgment ordered may provide for satisfaction by payment in installments in amounts and at such times, not exceeding one year for the last installment, as the judge determines to be just and reasonable. Minnesota Statutes, section 491A.02, subdivision 5 (Supplement 1993). Rule 512(e) recognizes that the one year limit on installment payments may be waived by the parties as part of a settlement.