We’re back. We spent about ten days straight preparing for a five-day trial scheduled to start on Monday, May 6. (This, by the way, supports our rule of thumb for budgeting trials: two full days of preparation for every one day of trial.) Our adversaries failed to show up with exhibit notebooks for opposing counsel […]
Update (May 8, 2019): The pessimism about the class action complaint against Capella University in the post below has not been entirely borne out but we were not far off. This week, the plaintiffs’ second amended complaint has withstood a motion to dismiss (in part). The plaintiffs barely survived the motion to dismiss, losing every […]
Showing our age (yet again), we invoke our older readers’ memories of comedian Flip Wilson who had a successful record album, “The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress,” in the 1970’s, which, in turn, spawned the 1970’s meme, “The Devil made me do it.” At issue in a newly filed case in the U.S. District […]
The Minnesota-based law firm of LEVENTHAL pllc specializes, if you will, in general civil litigation. Put a different way, we don’t specialize very much. If we did, “lake law” might be a tempting body of water law because our state has 10,000 or more of them. And the connection between many Minnesotans and their lakes […]
Turtling is an overwhelming temptation for many of us in many situations when confronted. It can be a sound strategy in many contexts. It is an extremely unwise strategy when you have been sued in Minnesota district court. Plaintiff Mary Brown sued Defendant MSP Services LLC dba MSP Home Rental (“MSP”), alleging that MSP discriminated […]
It might be fair. It might be unfair. But certain industries and certain businesses within those industries sometimes get reputations for litigation misconduct. For example, there seems to be almost a lore that railroads railroad their adversaries (and courts) in litigation. And the BNSF railroad, in particular, seems to run off the rails from time […]
Minnesota Litigator is DELIGHTED to introduce Minnesota civil litigator, Kelly Pierce, as Minnesota Litigator’s latest Guest Poster! (It has been a while since we’ve introduced a new Guest Poster.) If you don’t have the good fortune of knowing Ms. Pierce already, meet Kelly here. (Ed. Note: And we also give a hat-tip to long-time reader […]
“Used car sellers know when they’re lying.” This is an old joke. (In fact, we called it an old joke over six years ago.) But there might be a nauseating ring of truth to the joke for many readers. It might have to do with the complexity of the products. It might have to do […]
Update (April 15, 2019): The Minnesota heard oral argument in this case, described below, this past week. We predict Minnesota Sands will lose. Attorney Chris H. Dolan argued for Minnesota Sands and was peppered by questions from Justices Lillehaug, Thissen, Chutich, McKeig, and Hudson. Assuming all of these justices are unpersuaded by Minnesota Sands, Minnesota […]
Update (April 12, 2019): Disgraced Minnesota litigator and U of M Law graduate, Mr. Paul Hansmeier, is headed off to prison but for how long? Stay tuned. The government is asking for over ten years, arguing that “Hansmeier was greedy, arrogant, devious, mendacious, and consistently positioned other people to be damaged by his conduct, even […]