Medical information was obtained regarding sexually transmitted diseases and an apparent adulterous affair, which “news” was posted on a MySpace page. The posting was brief and the number of people who saw the private information gleaned from hospital medical records presumably small. For that and other reasons, the trial court granted defendants’ motion for summary […]
When the economy dives, frauds come to light (or, in Warren Buffett’s often-quoted more colorful language, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you learn who’s been swimming naked”). Therefore, today’s published Minnesota Court of Appeals decision broadening the reach of veil piercing beyond a corporation’s shareholders, officers, executives, or employees to reach any […]
An all-too-frequent misfortune is the over-inclusive or the under-inclusive settlement. A recent Minnesota Court of Appeals decision reflects a litigant’s apparently inadvertent surrender of a negligence claim. A tree company (“TC”) contracted with a horticulture specialist (“HS”) to spray the tree company’s trees. The tree company, unhappy with HS’ performance, withheld the $3,500 payment for […]
For quite a few years, trial courts’ consideration of whether or not to certify a class of certain kinds of putative class action claims (securites fraud, consumer class actions, certain employment class actions, environmental cases, mass accidents) have been perfunctory, at best. Many plaintiffs in such cases have intoned the requirements of Rule 23 of […]
In an unpublished Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a complete victory for defendant/debt collector/law firm Messerli & Kramer P.A. in a case brought by the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis and a sister case by Lori Swanson, Minnesota’s Attorney General. Messerli & Kramer had sought and been awarded default […]
In the Matter of the Petition of Crablex, Inc., Minn. App. Ct. , Court File No. A08-0458, decided 2/10/09. We are in an age of foreclosures and the Minnesota Court of Appeals has issued a published decision making clear that a foreclosure action “never binds any one who has not been made a party, or […]
Gilmore v. Walgreen Co., A07-2387 (Minn. Ct. App., January 20, 2009) Plaintiff tripped over an empty pallet at a Walgreen, was injured, and brought suit against Walgreen. The District Court (Ramsey Cty., Higgs, J.) granted summary judgment for Walgreen finding that the impediment was “known and obvious” and thus did not trigger a duty of […]