Minnesota Lawyer has named its 2023 Attorneys of the Year.
Paul Reuvers, Jason Kuboushek, and Andrew Wolf have been named Attorneys of the Year in the Nonprofit and Government category for their work in Puce v. City of Burnsville. This team obtained a victory in the Minnesota Supreme Court with the holding a city’s park dedication fee has an “essential nexus,” as required by Minnesota Statutes section 462.358, subdivision 2c(a), because there is some logical connection between the imposed park dedication fee and the municipal purpose sought to be achieved by the fee, and has a “rough proportionality” as required by the same statute, because the city made an individualized determination that the fee is related to the impact of the proposed development. The court determined the City of Burnsville complied with Minnesota Statutes section 462.358, subdivision 2b(e) because the city made a reasonable determination that it would need 5 percent of the gross land area of the development to maintain open space in proportion to city projections. The quick take-away is park dedication fee formulas are valid, but it is not a free pass to simply name a number. There needs to be some consideration as to how a city gets there.
Stephanie Angolkar has been named an Attorney of the Year in the Diversity & Inclusion category for her work with the Infinity Project Application Support Committee. Stephanie is the incoming 2024 President of the Infinity Project. The mission of The Infinity Project is to achieve gender equity and increase diversity in the state and federal bench to ensure the quality of justice in Minnesota and the Eighth Circuit.