BFW v. County of Ramsey

In BFW v. County of Ramsey, 566 N.W.2d 702 (Minn. 1997), the Minnesota Supreme Court had its first opportunity to closely examine the text of the 60 Day Rule, and thus, the Court set the standard for the judicial interpretation of the statute. The issue that the Minnesota Supreme Court addressed in BFW was the "extent of the statutory obligation imposed on a petitioner to provide information to the county" for compliance with the 60 Day Rule. Id. at 703. The Court held that the plain language of the statute clearly required the petitioner "to provide all information to which the petitioner has access, . . ." Id. at 705. The Court went further to state that "the statute's text required the petitioner to provide all information within its possession, even though the petitioner deems certain portions of that information to be incomplete or not fully accurate." Id. Finally, the Court held that "the statute clearly requires the petitioner to provide any of the required information within its possession . . ." Id.