1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to courts; authorizing managers and employees 
  1.3             of apartment buildings and real property management 
  1.4             companies to appear in conciliation and unlawful 
  1.5             detainer court on behalf of their employer; amending 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 481.02, subdivision 
  1.7             3; and 491A.02, subdivision 4.  
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 481.02, 
  1.10  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 3.  [PERMITTED ACTIONS.] The provisions of this 
  1.12  section shall not prohibit:  
  1.13     (1) any person from drawing, without charge, any document 
  1.14  to which the person, an employer of the person, a firm of which 
  1.15  the person is a member, or a corporation whose officer or 
  1.16  employee the person is, is a party, except another's will or 
  1.17  testamentary disposition or instrument of trust serving purposes 
  1.18  similar to those of a will; 
  1.19     (2) a person from drawing a will for another in an 
  1.20  emergency if the imminence of death leaves insufficient time to 
  1.21  have it drawn and its execution supervised by a licensed 
  1.22  attorney-at-law; 
  1.23     (3) any insurance company from causing to be defended, or 
  1.24  from offering to cause to be defended through lawyers of its 
  1.25  selection, the insureds in policies issued or to be issued by 
  1.26  it, in accordance with the terms of the policies; 
  2.1      (4) a licensed attorney-at-law from acting for several 
  2.2   common-carrier corporations or any of its subsidiaries pursuant 
  2.3   to arrangement between the corporations; 
  2.4      (5) any bona fide labor organization from giving legal 
  2.5   advice to its members in matters arising out of their 
  2.6   employment; 
  2.7      (6) any person from conferring or cooperating with a 
  2.8   licensed attorney-at-law of another in preparing any legal 
  2.9   document, if the attorney is not, directly or indirectly, in the 
  2.10  employ of the person or of any person, firm, or corporation 
  2.11  represented by the person; 
  2.12     (7) any licensed attorney-at-law of Minnesota, who is an 
  2.13  officer or employee of a corporation, from drawing, for or 
  2.14  without compensation, any document to which the corporation is a 
  2.15  party or in which it is interested personally or in a 
  2.16  representative capacity, except wills or testamentary 
  2.17  dispositions or instruments of trust serving purposes similar to 
  2.18  those of a will, but any charge made for the legal work 
  2.19  connected with preparing and drawing the document shall not 
  2.20  exceed the amount paid to and received and retained by the 
  2.21  attorney, and the attorney shall not, directly or indirectly, 
  2.22  rebate the fee to or divide the fee with the corporation; 
  2.23     (8) any person or corporation from drawing, for or without 
  2.24  a fee, farm or house leases, notes, mortgages, chattel 
  2.25  mortgages, bills of sale, deeds, assignments, satisfactions, or 
  2.26  any other conveyances except testamentary dispositions and 
  2.27  instruments of trust; 
  2.28     (9) a licensed attorney-at-law of Minnesota from rendering 
  2.29  to a corporation legal services to itself at the expense of one 
  2.30  or more of its bona fide principal stockholders by whom the 
  2.31  attorney is employed and by whom no compensation is, directly or 
  2.32  indirectly, received for the services; 
  2.33     (10) any person or corporation engaged in the business of 
  2.34  making collections from engaging or turning over to an 
  2.35  attorney-at-law for the purpose of instituting and conducting 
  2.36  suit or making proof of claim of a creditor in any case in which 
  3.1   the attorney-at-law receives the entire compensation for the 
  3.2   work; 
  3.3      (11) any regularly established farm journal or newspaper, 
  3.4   devoted to general news, from publishing a department of legal 
  3.5   questions and answers to them, made by a licensed 
  3.6   attorney-at-law, if no answer is accompanied or at any time 
  3.7   preceded or followed by any charge for it, any disclosure of any 
  3.8   name of the maker of any answer, any recommendation of or 
  3.9   reference to any one to furnish legal advice or services, or by 
  3.10  any legal advice or service for the periodical or any one 
  3.11  connected with it or suggested by it, directly or indirectly; 
  3.12     (12) any authorized management agent of an owner of rental 
  3.13  property used for residential purposes, whether the management 
  3.14  agent is a natural person, corporation, partnership, limited 
  3.15  partnership, or any other business entity, from commencing, 
  3.16  maintaining, conducting, or defending in its own behalf any 
  3.17  action in any court in this state to recover or retain 
  3.18  possession of the property, except that the provision of this 
  3.19  clause does not authorize a person who is not a licensed 
  3.20  attorney-at-law to conduct a jury trial or to appear before a 
  3.21  district court or the court of appeals or supreme court pursuant 
  3.22  to an appeal; 
  3.23     (13) any person from commencing, maintaining, conducting, 
  3.24  or defending on behalf of the plaintiff or defendant any action 
  3.25  in any court of this state pursuant to the provisions of section 
  3.26  566.175 or sections 566.18 to 566.35 or from commencing, 
  3.27  maintaining, conducting, or defending on behalf of the plaintiff 
  3.28  or defendant any action in any court of this state for the 
  3.29  recovery of rental property used for residential purposes 
  3.30  pursuant to the provisions of section 566.02 or 566.03, 
  3.31  subdivision 1, except that the provision of this clause does not 
  3.32  authorize a person who is not a licensed attorney-at-law to 
  3.33  conduct a jury trial or to appear before a district court or the 
  3.34  court of appeals or supreme court pursuant to an appeal, and 
  3.35  provided that, except for a nonprofit corporation, a person who 
  3.36  is not a licensed attorney-at-law shall not charge or collect a 
  4.1   separate fee for services rendered pursuant to this clause; 
  4.2      (14) the delivery of legal services by a specialized legal 
  4.3   assistant in accordance with a specialty license issued by the 
  4.4   supreme court before July 1, 1995; 
  4.5      (15) the sole shareholder of a corporation from appearing 
  4.6   on behalf of the corporation in court; or 
  4.7      (16) an officer, manager, partner, or employee or an agent 
  4.8   of a an apartment building, a rental property management 
  4.9   company, condominium, cooperative, or townhouse association from 
  4.10  appearing on behalf of a corporation, limited liability company, 
  4.11  partnership, sole proprietorship, or association in conciliation 
  4.12  court or in a district court action removed from conciliation 
  4.13  court, in accordance with section 491A.02, subdivision 4, or in 
  4.14  unlawful detainer court. 
  4.15     For purposes of clause (16), "unlawful detainer court" 
  4.16  means a district court that has housing calendar consolidation 
  4.17  program jurisdiction as specified in section 484.013, 
  4.18  subdivision 2.  
  4.19     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 491A.02, 
  4.20  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.21     Subd. 4.  [REPRESENTATION.] (a) A corporation, partnership, 
  4.22  limited liability company, sole proprietorship, or association 
  4.23  may be represented in conciliation court by an officer, manager, 
  4.24  or partner or an agent in the case of a an apartment building, a 
  4.25  rental property management company, condominium, cooperative, or 
  4.26  townhouse association, or may appoint a natural person who is an 
  4.27  employee or commercial property manager to appear on its behalf 
  4.28  or settle a claim in conciliation court.  The state or a 
  4.29  political subdivision of the state may be represented in 
  4.30  conciliation court by an employee of the pertinent governmental 
  4.31  unit without a written authorization. Representation under this 
  4.32  subdivision does not constitute the practice of law for purposes 
  4.33  of section 481.02, subdivision 8.  In the case of an officer, 
  4.34  employee, commercial property manager, or agent of a an 
  4.35  apartment building, a rental property management company, 
  4.36  condominium, cooperative, or townhouse association, an 
  5.1   authorized power of attorney, corporate authorization 
  5.2   resolution, corporate bylaw, or other evidence of authority 
  5.3   acceptable to the court must be filed with the claim or 
  5.4   presented at the hearing.  This subdivision also applies to 
  5.5   appearances in district court by a corporation or limited 
  5.6   liability company with five or fewer shareholders or members and 
  5.7   to any apartment building, property management company, 
  5.8   condominium, cooperative, or townhouse association, if the 
  5.9   action was removed from conciliation court. 
  5.10     (b) "Commercial property manager" means a corporation, 
  5.11  partnership, or limited liability company or its employees who 
  5.12  are hired by the owner of commercial real estate to perform a 
  5.13  broad range of administrative duties at the property including 
  5.14  tenant relations matters, leasing, repairs, maintenance, the 
  5.15  negotiation and resolution of tenant disputes, and related 
  5.16  matters.  In order to appear in conciliation court, a property 
  5.17  manager's employees must possess a real estate license under 
  5.18  section 82.20 and be authorized by the owner of the property to 
  5.19  settle all disputes with tenants and others within the 
  5.20  jurisdictional limits of conciliation court. 
  5.21     (c) A commercial property manager who is appointed to 
  5.22  settle a claim in conciliation court may not charge or collect a 
  5.23  separate fee for services rendered under paragraph (a).