Subdivision 1.Establishment.

The consumer litigation account is established in the special revenue fund in the state treasury.

Subd. 2.Disbursements from account.

Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 8.315

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Minority: means with respect to an individual the period of time during which the individual is a minor. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44

The attorney general may authorize disbursements from the consumer litigation account for the following purposes related to multistate consumer litigation:

(1) payment of the costs of litigation, investigation, administration, or settlement of any matter related to the duties and authorities provided by this chapter, federal law, or common law as it pertains to consumer litigation;

(2) cost-share payments subject to agreements entered into with other states, governmental entities, law enforcement agencies, or federal agencies in furtherance of litigation, investigation, administration, or settlement of any matter that pertains to consumer litigation;

(3) retention of expert witnesses, professional or technical services, consultants, specialists, mediators, or necessary services related to litigation, investigation, administration, or settlement of any matter that pertains to consumer litigation; and

(4) document review, issue coding, electronic data hosting, or discovery-related costs, including reasonable costs for services incurred by a state agency if related to litigation or an investigation pertaining to consumer litigation in which the state is a party and the attorney general determines it is beneficial to the state to authorize such payments.

Subd. 3.Reporting.

The attorney general shall report annually by October 15 to the chairs and ranking minority members of the committees in the senate and the house of representatives with jurisdiction over state government finance on activities funded through money disbursed from the consumer litigation account during the prior fiscal year. The report must include an accounting of the starting balance and ending balance of the consumer litigation account for the relevant reporting period and a summary description of all disbursements from the account, along with the purpose of any disbursements.