Previously covered here (including Roederer Trial Brief), the bell for Round #1 has rung in this intoxicating clash between top-of-the-line Cristal Champagne and bargain-basket Cristalino cava sparkling wine in a trademark fight filed in January, 2006 — a bench trial before U.S. District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen that started earlier this week. “Motions in […]
In a brief and stern order, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick Schiltz (D. Minn.) lowered the boom on counsel for insurer Hartford Insurance when, after a hearing, counsel submitted supplemental briefing. Judge Schiltz quoted himself in a “closely related context:” ”This is akin to lighting a cigar and then asking, ‘Is it okay if I […]
Here is the indictment of Dennis E. Hecker (and an alleged co-conspirator). The charges: wire fraud and the conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Here and here is the media coverage. No surprise here. Many, including Hecker himself, saw this coming (potential criminal vulnerability discussed here).
Minnesota litigators are well aware of the substantial difference between taking third-party discovery out of state for a federal case pending in Minnesota as compared to a Minnesota state court action. Federal subpoenas are standardized and relatively straight-forward. The process for out-of-state discovery for use in Minnesota state court actions is significantly more varied and […]
Bankruptcy is a means by which people and businesses can get a “fresh start” when they cannot otherwise escape their debts. What they generally seek is “discharge” of their debts. Not all debts are dischargeable, however. Moreover, under certain circumstances, a debtor may choose to waive his right to discharge of debt if, for example, […]
Common hypothetical: one has a lawsuit against multiple defendants, one of whom is the “deep pocket” or most likely source of recovery. That defendant moves for judgment as a matter of law and wins (on a summary judgment motion, for example). Plaintiffs, defendants, and even the trial court might all agree that plaintiffs’ case is […]
Over the past year, Minnesota Litigator readers have been barraged with news of appellate decisions from the Minnesota Court of Appeals in which plaintiffs lose professional malpractice claims for failure to meet the requirements for affidavits of expert review (see here and here, for example).
Similar to “tweets” from the Proposition 8 Trial in California, MinnLawyer blog has sent a reporter to all-day motion hearings in Ramsey County.
Covered here and here previously, the battle of the bikes settled today. The Star Tribune article did not set out all of the terms of the settlement, which are likely confidential but part of the settlement was a $100,000 contribution to 1in6.org, a charity that LeMond apparently favors.
The fight for preferred forum is an important preliminary skirmish in any interstate legal battle — that is, in any litigation between, say, a Minnesota company and an out-of-state company. And the proverbial “race to the courthouse” is a very common threshold issue. As every experienced Minnesota civil litigator knows, lawsuits, under Minnesota law, “commence” […]