Minnesota motion deadlines are counted backward from the hearing date, not forward from anything you do. That one fact is what sinks the motions of lawyers who are competent everywhere else. You don’t get a filing window that opens when you’re ready. You get a hearing date from the court administrator, and Rule 115 then tells you the last day on which each document can be served and filed. Get the hearing date late, or get one sooner than the rule’s runway, and the motion can’t be heard.
The other thing to know up front: dispositive and nondispositive motions run on different schedules (28 days and 21 days for the moving party) but share a single page limit. Here’s the rule, subdivision by subdivision.
What makes a motion dispositive, and why does the label decide the deadline?
Rule 115.01(a) defines the two categories, and the dispositive side is broader than a new lawyer expects. Under 115.01(a)(1):
“Dispositive motions are motions which seek to dispose of all or part of the claims or parties, except motions for default judgment. They include motions to dismiss a party or claim, motions for summary judgment and motions under Minn. R. Civ. P. 12.02(a)-(f).”
Look at the phrase “all or part.” A motion for partial summary judgment on one count is dispositive. A Rule 12.02 motion aimed at a single claim is dispositive. Default judgment motions are carved out by name.
Rule 115.01(a)(2) takes everything else: “Nondispositive motions are all other motions, including but not limited to discovery, third party practice, temporary relief, intervention or amendment of pleadings.” Temporary relief sits on the nondispositive track, which matters if you’re bringing a motion under Rule 65.
Two kinds of case are outside the rule entirely. Rule 115.01 states that it “shall govern all civil motions, except those in family court matters governed by Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 301 through 379 and in commitment proceedings subject to the Special Rules of Procedure Governing Proceedings Under the Minnesota Commitment and Treatment Act.”
What are the deadlines for a dispositive motion?
28 days for the movant, 14 for the response, 7 for the reply, each counted backward from the hearing.
Rule 115.03(a) requires the moving party to pay any required motion filing fee, serve on all opposing counsel and self-represented litigants, and file with the court administrator at least 28 days before the hearing, four items:
- Notice of motion and motion — 115.03(a)(1)
- Proposed order — 115.03(a)(2)
- Any affidavits and exhibits to be submitted in conjunction with the motion — 115.03(a)(3)
- Memorandum of law — 115.03(a)(4)
The consequence is right there in the rule’s opening words: “No motion shall be heard until the moving party pays any required motion filing fee, serves the following documents on all opposing counsel and self-represented litigants, and files the documents with the court administrator at least 28 days before the hearing.” Serving without filing isn’t compliance. Neither is filing without paying the fee.
Rule 115.03(b) gives the responding party until at least 14 days before the hearing to pay any required motion filing fee, serve, and file: (1) memorandum of law; and (2) supplementary affidavits and exhibits.
Rule 115.03(c) allows a reply at least 7 days before the hearing, and limits what it can say: the moving party may submit a reply memorandum “limited to new legal or factual matters raised by an opposing party’s response to a motion, by serving it on all opposing counsel and self-represented litigants and filing it with the court administrator at least 7 days before the hearing.”
What are the deadlines for a nondispositive motion?
21 days for the movant, 14 for the response, 7 for the reply. Only the movant’s number changes.
Rule 115.04(a) requires the moving party to pay any required fee, serve, and file at least 21 days before the hearing: (1) notice of motion and motion; (2) proposed order; (3) any affidavits and exhibits to be submitted in conjunction with the motion; and (4) “Any memorandum of law the party intends to submit.”
That fourth item reads differently from its dispositive counterpart. On a dispositive motion, 115.03(a)(4) lists “Memorandum of law” flat. On a nondispositive motion, the memorandum is the one “the party intends to submit” — and 115.04(b)(1) uses the same conditional phrasing for the response. Read the two side by side before you decide to argue a nondispositive motion on the papers alone.
Rule 115.04(b) sets the response at at least 14 days before the hearing: any memorandum of law the party intends to submit, and any relevant affidavits and exhibits. Rule 115.04(c) sets the reply at at least 7 days before the hearing, with the same limit to new matters.
Rule 115.04(d) adds an off-ramp worth knowing: an expedited, informal nondispositive process the moving party “may invoke … by written notice to the court and all opposing counsel and self-represented litigants,” after which the parties may submit short letters (the rule specifies that “no briefs, declarations or sworn affidavits are to be filed”) and the judge hears argument at a remote conference. The rule states that conferences held under it “will not be recorded or transcribed.” For a narrow discovery skirmish, this is often faster than a 21-day runway.
How many pages do I get?
Thirty-five, on either track, and the reply comes out of the same 35. Here the two tracks come together instead of splitting apart. Rule 115.05:
“No memorandum of law submitted in connection with either a dispositive or nondispositive motion shall exceed 35 pages, exclusive of the recital of facts required by Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.03(d)(3), except with permission of the court.”
And here’s the sentence that catches people: “If a reply memorandum of law is filed, the cumulative total of the original memorandum and the reply memorandum shall not exceed 35 pages, except with permission of the court.” A 35-page opening brief leaves zero pages for reply. Budget for it.
Rule 115.05 also puts a content limit on discovery motions specifically: “For motions involving discovery requests, the moving party’s memorandum shall set forth only the particular discovery requests and the response or objection thereto which are the subject of the motion, and a concise recitation of why the response or objection is improper.” See Rule 37 for the rest of that package.
What does summary judgment add on top?
Rule 115.03(d) imposes four content requirements on the memorandum in a summary judgment motion: a statement of the issues that are the grounds for the motion; a statement identifying all documents comprising the record on which the motion is made, with opposing parties required to “identify in their responding Memorandum of Law any additional documents on which they rely”; a recital of the material facts as to which there is no genuine dispute “with a specific citation to that part of the record supporting each fact, such as deposition page and line or page and paragraph of an exhibit,” with the opposing party required to recite in like manner any material facts claimed to be in dispute; and the party’s argument and authorities.
Then the rule reaches further: “These additional requirements also apply to a motion under Minn. R. Civ. P. 12 if factually based. Part (3) is excluded from the page limitations of this rule.” The fact recital is free space. Details are in the Rule 56 article.
Can the court move these deadlines?
Yes, with one floor. Rule 115.01(b) provides that the time limits exist to give the court adequate opportunity to prepare and rule, “and the court may modify the time limits, provided, however, that in no event shall the time limited be less than the time established by Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02.” Rule 56.02 in turn provides that “in no event shall the motion be served less than 14 days before the time fixed for the hearing.”
Rule 115.07 supplies the standard for relaxing them: “If irreparable harm will result absent immediate action by the court, or if the interests of justice otherwise require, the court may waive or modify the time limits established by this rule.”
Post-trial motions sit outside the timing scheme altogether. Rule 115.01(c) states that the timing provisions of 115.03 and 115.04 don’t apply to them, and that “[e]xcept as limited by Minn. R. Civ. P. 59.03, on the request of any party, the procedures for bringing, briefing, and hearing post-trial motions shall be governed by order of the court in the action.”
How do I count the days?
Rule 115.01(b) sends you to Rule 6: “Computation of time under this rule is governed by Minn. R. Civ. P. 6.” Because Rule 115’s deadlines run backward from the hearing, two provisions do the work. Rule 6.01(a)(1) excludes the triggering day, counts every intervening day “including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays,” and includes the last day unless it falls on a weekend or legal holiday, in which case “the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.” Rule 6.01(c) then sets which direction “next day” runs: “The ‘next day’ is determined by continuing to count forward when the period is measured after an event and backward when measured before an event.”
Don’t reach for the three-day mail extension here. It lives in Rule 6.01(e), and by its terms applies where a party must act “within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other document upon the party.” Rule 115’s deadlines aren’t measured from service. And Rule 6.05, where the mail rule used to live and which older secondary sources and even the 1997 advisory committee comment to Rule 115 still cite, was abrogated effective January 1, 2020. More on this in the Rule 6 article.
What happens if I miss one?
Rule 115.06 sorts the consequences by who defaulted and on which track. “If the moving documents are not properly served and filed, the hearing may be canceled by the court.” If responsive documents aren’t properly served and filed on a nondispositive motion, “the court may deem the motion unopposed and may grant the relief requested without a hearing.” On a dispositive motion, the court “in its discretion, may refuse to permit oral argument by the party not filing the required documents, may allow reasonable attorney’s fees, or may take other appropriate action.”
What else does Rule 115 require that is easy to forget?
Conferring, and certifying that you conferred. Rule 115.10: “No motion will be heard unless the parties have conferred in an attempt to resolve their differences prior to the hearing. The moving party shall initiate the conference. The moving party shall certify to the court, before the time of the hearing, compliance with this rule or any reasons for not complying, including lack of availability or cooperation of opposing counsel.” The certification is affirmative, and it’s the movant’s job. The rule also requires the moving party to promptly tell the court whenever a pending motion is settled.
Notice of the hearing date. Rule 115.02 requires the date and time to be obtained “from the court administrator or a designated motion calendar deputy,” and requires the party who gets it to “promptly give notice advising all other opposing counsel and self-represented litigants who have appeared in the action so that cross motions may, insofar as possible, be heard on a single hearing date.”
Witnesses. Rule 115.08: “No testimony will be taken at motion hearings except under unusual circumstances.” A party who wants to present witnesses must get the court’s prior consent and notify the adverse party of the names and addresses in the motion documents.
And if you lose: Rule 115.11 provides that “[m]otions to reconsider are prohibited except by express permission of the court, which will be granted only upon a showing of compelling circumstances,” and requires that the request and any response “be made only by letter to the court of no more than two pages in length, a copy of which must be served on all opposing counsel and self-represented litigants.”
Does the assigned judge’s standing order change any of this?
It can, and you have to check. Minnesota district court judges publish practice pointers and standing orders that regularly add requirements Rule 115 doesn’t contain: courtesy copies, chambers submission formats, specific procedures for scheduling and for discovery disputes. Where a judge’s order addresses something, that order governs how your motion is handled in that courtroom. They’re published on the judicial district’s pages at mncourts.gov. Read them before you notice a hearing, not after. Nothing here should be read as a description of what any particular judge requires.
The related sanctions exposure, Rule 11’s safe harbor, runs on its own clock and isn’t a Rule 115 problem. It’s still worth knowing before you file the motion, not after the response shows up.
Madgett Law, LLC associates with out-of-state and newly admitted counsel on Minnesota district court matters. Send us a message.
Sources: Minn. Gen. R. Prac. 115.01 (scope; definitions in 115.01(a)(1)–(2); time and Rule 6 computation in 115.01(b); post-trial motions in 115.01(c)), 115.02 (hearing date and notice), 115.03(a)(1)–(4), (b)(1)–(2), (c), (d)(1)–(4) (dispositive motion deadlines and summary judgment content), 115.04(a)(1)–(4), (b)(1)–(2), (c), (d) (nondispositive motion deadlines and expedited informal process), 115.05 (page limits), 115.06 (failure to comply), 115.07 (relaxation of time limits), 115.08 (witnesses), 115.10 (settlement efforts and certification), 115.11 (motions to reconsider); Minn. R. Civ. P. 56.02 (14-day minimum service before hearing); Minn. R. Civ. P. 6.01(a)(1), 6.01(c), 6.01(e), 6.04, and 6.05 [abrogated effective January 1, 2020]. Rule text: Minnesota Judicial Branch rules text, 2026-08-10; Rules 115.04, 115.09, and 115.10 carry amendment dates effective July 1, 2026.
General legal information about Minnesota law, not legal advice. No attorney–client relationship is created by this article, and no outcome is promised or implied.