United Prairie Bank-Mountain Lake v. Haugen Nutrition & Equipment, LLC

I respectfully dissent. I disagree with the court’s conclusion that Haugen Nutrition & Equipment, LLC and Leland and llene Haugen (collectively, HNE) are constitutionally entitled to a jury trial on the attorney fees claim of United Prairie Bank. The majority’s decision represents a dramatic sea change for Minnesota courts and casts Minnesota as an outlier among jurisdictions that have considered this issue. Relying on our prior treatment of attorney fees, I conclude that the bank’s claim for attorney fees is most closely analogous to a claim for costs or disburse*64ments, which does not…