The so-called subprime mortgage meltdown has not only resulted in the shutdown of hundreds of mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers in Minnesota and across the country. Another consequence has been a rash of enhanced state and federal laws intended to crack down on what were viewed as sharp practices by the mortgage lending industry that […]
With a nearly infinite respository of data on every desk thanks to the internet, including judges’ desks, it should come as no surprise that some judges have been tempted to undertake some independent fact-finding in seeking the best resolution of matters pending before them. Such was the case for the U.S. District Court, District of […]
Jurisdiction/Choice-Of-Law Drunken Defendant collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Plaintiff on the Blatnik Bridge, which spans the St. Louis River between Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota. Plaintiff was driving toward Wisconsin; Defendant “was driving toward Minnesota, but in the Wisconsin-bound lane,” as the Court of Appeals put it. (I favor compass directions and the […]
Securities fraud defendants sue securities fraud plaintiff’s counsel and expert in U.S. District Court, D. Minn. (PACER password required to access link) As those who follow securities fraud class action litigation, a notorious damages expert for the Milberg Weiss law firm, Paul Torkelson, plead guilty to perjury in connection with his bought testimony (undisclosed payments, […]
Defendant/Homeowners obtained a loan to redeem after the foreclosure sale of their home, getting a $245,000 loan from Plaintiff Rand with an interest rate starting at 13.99% and, after one year, going up to 14.99%. Defendants fell behind on the new loan, were foreclosed, and failed to redeem. Prior to eviction, Defendants sought to rescind, […]
The Minnesota Supreme Court: “We are persuaded by the reasoning of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the trend of other courts in concluding that trademark infringement falls within the plain and ordinary meaning of ‘infringement of title.’” [Editorial aside: isn’t “plain and ordinary meaning of ‘infringement of title’” either a paradox or an oxymoron?] The […]
From a recent U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit, Order affirming the U.S. District Court grant of summary judgment for the defendant: “Gary Lizalek’s religious beliefs make for a complicated identity. As a matter of faith, he understands himself to be three separate beings: (1) GARY C LIZALEK, “a trust that was created by the […]
The O’Neils bought a crib for their grand-children, which they used without incident for four years. The crib was then recalled due to a hardware defect, which could cause a gap in the crib gate and pose a risk of injury or death to infants. After the recall, a retrofit was made available for purchasers. […]
Donaldson Company, Inc. vs Burroughs Diesel, Inc., Case No. 08-2705 (oral argument, 3/13/09) A January 2009 per curiam unpublished 8th Circuit decision reversed the U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo. (Laughrey, J.), on its rejection of a non-signatory’s motion to compel arbitration. Finnie v. Looby, et al., 8th Cir. File No. 07-3526 (filed 1/12/09). The issue […]
Judge Richard Kyle, U.S. District Court Judge (D. Minn.) has rejected a motion to recuse himself in a huge raft of litigation against Medtronic based on Medtronic’s Sprint Fidelis defibrillator lead. The basis for the plaintiffs’ motion was the fact that his son, Richard Kyle, Jr., is employed with Medtronic’s outside counsel, Fredrikson & Byron […]