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January 31, 2013 Page 4 Third, this section contemplates that Landform will "assist in the evaluation consideration, negotiations, and deal structuring on any disposition of land within the development area." The Contract does not define the term "assist." Nonetheless, in light of Section X of the Contract, which bars Landform from receiving compensation for providing brokerage services, this section cannot be interpreted to mean that Landform is to engage in activities requiring a brokerage license. See e.g. American Warehousing And Distributing, Inc. v. Michael Management, Inc., 414 N.W.2d 554 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988) (holding that contract provision requiring distributor to "assist" in sales could not be interpreted so as to breach other contract provision barring sales in certain territories). Rather, in light of the understanding and express acknowledgment in the Contract that Landform is not a licensed real estate broker, Landform understands this section to require that it provide assistance in the form of advice regarding land development, land use, and engineering, project feasibility, etc. Landform believes that this type of advice and assistance is valuable to the HRA, and is compensable. Landform does not understand its role as serving as a principal negotiator concerning the sale of land. Historically, that role has been filled by the HRA's attorney, city staff, and most often the HRA itself in public meetings or closed sessions. Neither the plain language of the broker licensing statute nor Minnesota case law subjects the provision of this kind of "assistance" concerning a real estate transaction to the broker's license requirement. Such an overreaching interpretation would be absurd, and would result in dramatic negative consequences for the City of Ramsey. For instance, such an overbroad interpretation would mean that a municipality, like Ramsey, could not hire outside experts to advise it in negotiations over real estate, unless the outside expert was a licensed real estate broker. Yet, municipalities routinely benefit from the advice of outside architects, developers, and land use professionals. This is particularly true of smaller municipalities that, unlike Minneapolis or St. Paul, cannot afford to employ full-time land use professionals on staff. It would be odd to interpret a statute designed to protect consumers as restricting a municipality's ability to receive professional advice concerning development and sale negotiations. The bottom line is that offering advice and assisting the HRA in its negotiations to sell land does not rise to the level of direct negotiating regulated by the broker licensing statute. This interpretation is consistent with the inclusion of Ms. Nelson on Development Management Team, as well as the assignment of I -IRA counsel to each and every development proposed over the last three years that progressed to a potential sale of property. Finally, it should also be noted that the anonymous author's reliance on unpublished court of appeals decisions is misplaced. Unpublished decisions of the Minnesota Court of Appeals are not precedential, and can be relied upon by courts only in limited circumstances. See Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3(c) (stating that unpublished court of appeals decisions are not precedential); Vlahos v. R&I Const. of Bloomington, Inc., 676 N.W.2d 672, 676 n.3 (Minn. 2004) (stating that unpublished decisions should not be relied upon because they "rarely contain a full recitation of the facts."). 2. There Is Nothing Improper About The HRA's Method For Calculating Landform's Compensation Notwithstanding the suggestion of the anonymous author, there is nothing impermissible about Landform receiving compensation that is tied to the value of the development or the value of real estate. As background, it is Landform's recollection that this incentive structure was the choice of the HRA. Landform initially presented the HRA with a proposal that involved paying an hourly rate for Landform's services. The HRA expressed a preference for the "incentive" compensation structure. The HRA's