This past summer, the United States District Court (D. Minn. (Ericksen, J.)) certified a number of questions to the Minnesota Supreme Court to be argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court tomorrow morning (12/1/09) in Savig vs. First National Bank of Omaha and Messerli & Kramer, P.A., Case No. A09-1221.The Minnesota Supreme Court will answer three questions put to […]
The Edina law firm’s trip to the U.S. Supreme Court was previously covered here. Now, Marcia Coyle, of Law.com, has published a backgrounder (relating, for example, how, after putting himself through law school while working as a prison guard and raising three children, Robert Milavetz became a legal aid lawyer until he opened his own […]
Neither disparate bargaining power nor public policy preclude enforcement of waivers in the context of ski resorts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held today. There is no Minnesota Supreme Court decision on point, but the Eighth Circuit, analogizing the case to sky-diving or horseback-riding, activities where Minnesota courts have upheld liability […]
U.S. District Court Judge David Doty won’t be deciding Plaintiffs’ motion to certify class against MoneyGram until after a class certification hearing set for Feburary 10, 2010 but the opposition to the motion, below, is of interest on at least a few levels. First, the fact that MoneyGram is contesting class certification at all is […]
The Wall Street Journal Law blog, Ashby Jones, interviews Dean Lewis as the Petters jury takes the balance of the week of for the holiday, to resume deliberation on Monday. Lewis: “I’d be stunned if he were acquitted.”
[12/11/09 UPDATE: The Minnesota Litigator jumped the gun. Before the appeal comes Fair Isaac’s motion for an amended judgment, judgment as a matter of law, a new trial or, in the alternative, findings of fact filed 12/10/09.] In a large lawsuit covered in this blog previously here (discovery deadline dispute), here (technology in the courtroom), […]
In a Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA) case covered previously on this blog, the lender lost on a TILA rescission claim before the 8th Circuit (which had reversed the District Court (D. Minn.)). Pursuant to the Eighth Circuit’s mandate, late last week, the lender/plaintiff, Rand, was ordered to pay defendants attorney’s fees (Amber Hawkins, John Tancabel) in the amount […]
Electronic discovery (“ESI”= electronically stored information) is a fact of life for almost all civil litigation but there are forces at work (technologically ignorant litigators and unbelievable potential expense for “full-scale” electronic discovery, for example) that limit the scope of such discovery in many cases. That said, the technological sophistication of trial lawyers increases constantly […]
The Federal Bar Association November lunch today featured the Honorable Janie S. Mayeron (U.S. Mag. Judge, D. Minn.): “What I Know Now That I Should Have Known (a/k/a Wished I Had Known) Then: The Judge’s Observations (with 20/20 Hindsight) of the Practicing Lawyer.” Judge Mayeron’s address covered five areas of litigation she deals with: Pretrial […]
Is there a federal right to cheap cheese? The Dairy Farmers of America might like that formulation of the legal issues in the case brought against it by Killer Whale Holdings, LLC and others. Surely the plaintiffs in this case of alleged market manipulation might want to characterize the case differently — perhaps, can the […]