Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 133.01
The appellate courts may direct the parties, or their attorneys, to appear before a justice, judge or person designated by the appellate courts, either in person or by telephone, for a prehearing conference to consider settlement, simplification of the issues, and other matters which may aid in the disposition of the proceedings by the court. The justice, judge or person designated by the appellate courts shall make an order which recites the agreement made by the parties as to any of the matters considered and which limits the issues to those not disposed of by admission or agreement of counsel.
Unless exempted by the court for good cause shown, appeals in family law cases are subject to mandatory mediation. The court of appeals is authorized to issue special rules of practice governing the family law appellate mediation process. These special rules apply to appeals arising from marital dissolution actions; parentage actions; post-decree modification and enforcement proceedings, including civil contempt actions; child-support actions; and third-party custody and visitation actions.
Minn. R. Civ. App. P. 133.01
Prehearing conferences are still authorized by this rule, but it is anticipated that they will be held in very few cases and will be governed by internal operating procedures established by each of the appellate courts.
Advisory Committee Comment-2010 Amendment (effective 2011)
This rule is amended to add a second paragraph to provide expressly for the family law mediation pilot program initiated by the court of appeals in September of 2008 and made permanent in 2010. The primary purpose of this rule is to provide notice to litigants that certain family law appeals are subject to mandatory mediation in the court of appeals.
Following a successful pilot project in which family law appeals were referred to mediation (over 50% of the appeals that were mediated in the pilot project were settled, resulting in substantial benefits to the litigants and the court), the court of appeals has recommended that the mediation requirement be made permanent. As part of the implementation of mediation as a standing requirement, the Special Rules of Practice for the Minnesota Court of Appeals Governing Family Law Appellate Mediation will include detailed guidance on the procedures involved in the mediation program. The program will be operated in accordance with the special rules of practice, which should be consulted by parties to family law appeals. The rules will be published as an adjunct to the Minnesota Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure and are accessible on the Minnesota Judicial Branch web site: www.mncourts.gov.
When those rules are adopted, this amendment to Rule 133.01 is appropriate to provide guidance to litigants of the existence of this program and the fact that it is generally mandatory. The rule includes reference to the possibility that good cause may exist for exemption from the mediation requirement. Exemption from mandatory mediation is governed by the Special Rules, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals Family Law Appellate Mediation Policies and Procedures provide explicitly for exemption in cases involving allegations of domestic violence. Other grounds for exemption from mandatory mediation may include making a convincing demonstration that post-trial ADR has been employed without success, geographical unavailability of a trained appellate mediator, persuasive arguments that appeal presents an unsettled legal issue upon which the court of appeals should rule, and other reasons.