Rochester Election Lawsuit: Defendants Asks for Trial by Jan 3.

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Both sides in a Rochester election lawsuit are awaiting a scheduling decision from the judge presiding over the case. 

Read More: Lawsuit Seeks Review of Rochester City Council Election 

The defense is requesting the trial start no later than next week. The new Rochester City Council is scheduled to be sworn in on Monday, Jan. 6. 

Current Fourth Ward Rochester City Councilmember Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick was beaten by challenger Andy Friederichs in November.

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A little over a week after the election, Kirkpatrick filed a civil complaint in Olmsted County Court alleging Friederichs does not live in the Fourth Ward. 

According to the civil complaint, Kirkpatrick and three other Fourth Ward voters claim Friederichs’s family's home is in Marion Township, outside the city limits, and that he does not meet the city's election residency requirements even though he now lists his address as a rental unit on East Center Street. 

The lawsuit contends that makes Friederichs ineligible to run for an elected position in the City of Rochester. 

Judge Asked to Start Trial in Election Lawsuit Over Rochester City Council Seat As Soon as Next Week

Friederichs’s attorney Harry Niska, who is also a Republican member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, is asking the judge to start the trial as soon as next week and no later than Friday, Jan. 3, unless the plaintiffs dismiss the case. 

There was an off the record case management hearing on Friday. The next hearing in the court case has not been set as of Saturday morning.