Last November, Minnesota Litigator questioned the strategy of opposing class certification in this matter (and noted a rather unorthodox and liberal use of redaction in the response brief to the motion for class certification) and today comes the press release of settlement for $80 million.  Insurance will pay for all but $20 million of the […]

Media reports a potentially significant case brought against Fridley, Minnesota-based Medtronic in U.S. District Court. (D. Mass.) “on behalf of 22 states and the District of Columbia” (but, also, the report says, brought by two former Medtronic employees with whistleblower claims (a qui tam suit)) premised on unlawful promotion of FDA-unapproved devices. HERE is the […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Colloton, Beam, Benton) reversed the U.S. District Court (S.D. Iowa), which had awarded summary judgment to a plaintiff who took on some internet spammers under Iowa’s anti-spam statute.  At $10/spam email, the bill came to $236 million.  The problem with plaintiff’s case as to the particular […]

At around 7 p.m., in July, 2006, Minneapolis police received word (an anonymous 911 call) complaining about a group of “people covered in make up playing loud music from a boombox” in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.  According to the caller, the group’s members were “calling themselves zombies and almost touching people.” Officers responded to […]

Bad news got worse for Dennis “Denny” E. Hecker this month (see here and here vs. here). [UPDATE: Here is the judgment, issued by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court (D. Minn.) (Kressel, J.) today, though it is a single page and not particularly informative.]

Promoting its appellate practice, Twin Cities law firm Faegre & Benson L.L.P. distributes timely notices and synopses of U.S. Supreme Court decisions by email to friends, counsel, and clients.  It also posts them on its website (and I mean “timely” — same day).  Thanks to Faegre (their appellate lawyers, John F. Beukema and Aaron D. […]

In 281 Care v. Arneson, decided against plaintiffs by U.S. District Court Judge James Rosenbaum (D. Minn.) on Friday, plaintiff political action groups challenge Minn. Stat. 211B.06, which essentially criminalizes knowingly lying about people running for office or ballot measures being considered by the electorate, based on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution — […]

Defendants have enjoyed quite a lot of success in federal courts since Iqbal and Twombly on motions to dismiss but such motions still have their limits, of course.   In a pending class action against the National Arbitration Forum, against many consumer lenders (J.P. Morgan, American Express, Bank of America, MBNA, Capital One, etc.), and […]

The Minnesota State Bar Association “Capital Connection” passed on the latest news on legislation and the state bar this week: HF2823/HF2828: These bills from the Real Property Section, carried by lawyer-legislator Rep. Gail Kulick Jackson (DFL-Milaca), passed the House Civil Justice Committee on Monday.  Attorney Kevin Dunlevy from the Real Property Section testified in support of […]

With the recent news of the Biber matter, the rather uncommon settlement term in the Lemond v. Trek lawsuit, and now a certified question to the Minnesota Supreme Court from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, it seems that the deep dark world of child sexual abuse may be getting some needed […]