Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 549.191 (2026)

Claim For Punitive Damages

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MN-REVrevisor.mn.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Upon commencement of a civil action, the complaint must not seek punitive damages. After filing the suit a party may make a motion to amend the pleadings to claim punitive damages. The motion must allege the applicable legal basis under section 549.20 or other law for awarding punitive damages in the action and must be accompanied by one or more affidavits showing the factual basis for the claim. At the hearing on the motion, if the court finds prima facie evidence in support of the motion, the court shall grant the moving party permission to amend the pleadings to claim punitive damages. For purposes of tolling the statute of limitations, pleadings amended under this section relate back to the time the action was commenced.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 126 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1987–2026 · leading case: Swanlund v. Shimano Indus. Corp., Ltd., 459 N.W.2d 151 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Swanlund v. Shimano Indus. Corp., Ltd., 459 N.W.2d 151 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 50× “On appeal, George and Lu Jean Swanlund argue the trial court erred by applying the wrong legal standard to their motion under Minn.Stat. § 549.191 (1988). We disagree and affirm.”

Healey v. I-Flow, LLC, 853 F. Supp. 2d 868 (D. Minnesota 2012). · cites it 28× “See Minn.Stat. § 549.191 (“The motion must allege the applicable legal basis under section 549.”

Ulrich v. City of Crosby, 848 F. Supp. 861 (D. Minnesota 1994). · cites it 28× “, supra (“Minn.Stat. § 549.191 essentially requires the trial court to direct a portion of the verdict against the plaintiff if the evidence of willful indifference is insufficient”).”

Berczyk v. Emerson Tool Co., 291 F. Supp. 2d 1004 (D. Minnesota 2003). · cites it 19× “As we have previously recounted, “ ‘[i]n the Federal Courts of this District, the pleading of punitive damage claims, under causes of actions premised upon the law of the State of Minnesota, must generally conform to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes Sections 549.”

Zeelan Indus., Inc. v. De Zeeuw, 706 F. Supp. 702 (D. Minnesota 1989). · cites it 38× “De Zeeuw bases his motion on Minn.Stat. § 549.191 which provides: Upon commencement of a civil action, the complaint must not seek punitive damages.”

Kuehn Ex Rel. Kuehn v. Shelcore, Inc., 686 F. Supp. 233 (D. Minnesota 1988). · cites it 17× “At issue is whether the court, in this diversity ac *234 tion, must apply Minnesota Statute § 549.191 prohibiting pleading punitive damages without leave of court.”

Target Corp. v. LCH Pavement Consultants, LLC, 960 F. Supp. 2d 999 (D. Minnesota 2013). · cites it 9× “198), which not only seeks leave to assert punitive damages under Minn.Stat. § 549.191, but also seeks leave to re-allege a fraud claim against the paving contractors and a Sherman Act claim against all Defendants.”

Backlund v. City of Duluth, 176 F.R.D. 316 (D. Minnesota 1997). · cites it 36× “08, supersedes, or is subject to, the regimen for pleading and proving exemplary damages that is set forth in Minnesota Statutes Sections 549.191 and 549.20. 3 Section 549.”

Olson v. Snap Prods., Inc., 29 F. Supp. 2d 1027 (D. Minnesota 1998). · cites it 13× “, supra (“Minn.Stat. § 549.191 essentially requires the trial court to direct a portion of the verdict against the plaintiff if the evidence of willful indifference is insufficient.”

Onepoint Solutions, Llc, a Georgia Ltd. Liab. Co. v. Michael Borchert William Catuzzi, 486 F.3d 342 (8th Cir. 2007). · cites it 2× “2003) (citing Minn.Stat. § 549.191 (“Upon commencement of a civil action, the complaint must not seek punitive damages.”

Selective Ins. Co. of S.C. v. Sela, 353 F. Supp. 3d 847 (D. Me. 2018). · cites it 3× “23, 2010) (noting that this District has applied Minn. Stat. § 549.191 to claims for punitive damages); see also In re Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Prods.”

DeRoche v. All Am. Bottling Corp., 38 F. Supp. 2d 1102 (D. Minnesota 1998). · cites it 8× “See, Minnesota Statutes Sections 549.191 and 549.20. All American argues that Minnesota Statutes Section 181.”

Show all 126 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.