Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
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Should Courts Allow, Prohibit, Encourage, or Discourage Post-Verdict Juror Interviews?
Update (July 5, 2019): Another U.S. District Court Judge (D. Minn.) (Hon. Donovan W. Frank) weighs in on the subject of the post, below. Update (May 3, 2018): (Maybe a lawyer’s right to speak to jurors (or, more precisely, a judge’s prohibition on a lawyer’s right to talk to jurors?) implicates the First Amendment?) Recent discussion […]
Domestic Abuse or Abusive Defamation? (And the Enigma of Defamation Damages)
Update (June 28, 2019): The Minnesota Supreme Court has spoken on the case discussed below. The quick background: Defamation defendant Jorud holds herself out as a victim of domestic abuse. Someplace Safe, a non-profit set up to fight this widely recognized social ill, quoted and recognized Ms. Jorud with a “Survivor Award” at a fund-raising […]
Life-changing amendments to the Minnesota Court rules!
Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court adopted some amendments to court rules that will make our lives as lawyers easier! New deadlines The amendments set new deadlines for many court filings. And, the amendments will make it easier to figure out deadlines for court filings. The amended rules adopt a 28 – 21 – 14 […]
A $23 Million Fee (and Costs) Award on a $28.7 Million Jury Verdict
Congratulations to lawyers from Quinn Emanuel and their local counsel on a significant fee award coming on the heels of a jury verdict in one of some fifty lawsuits brought by a hollow husk of an undead zombie mortgage lender (going by the name of “RFC and RESCAP Liquidating Trust Act” or “RFC,” for short) […]
Sanctions Practice Pointers
Over the years, Minnesota Litigator has had touchstones, you might call them, or recurring post themes and one of them has been sanctions. As a blog that focuses on news and developments in Minnesota civil litigation, sanctions are of interest because, in a sense, they illustrate the pinch points, one might say, between respective Minnesota […]
A Tale of Two Agreements
The dispute between Mr. Jon and Ms. Sonja Nelson and the International Paper Company over who owes whom what for a tree-farming/growing deal caught our eye because LEVENTHAL pllc also has a current case in which two parties entered into two agreements at the same time which are inconsistent. On its face, the situation is […]
TAAFOMFT, v. 11: Fighting over Table Shape
Regular readers of Minnesota Litigator are familiar with our TAAFOMFT (“These are a few of my favorite things”) posts in which we engage in the fine art of whining via irony. The title of this post comes from a famous negotiation in the 1960’s involving the United States and Vietnam in which the shape of the […]
“The AMA Opposes Lawsuit Abuse Against Physicians”
“The AMA Opposes Lawsuit Abuse Against Physicians….” Now there’s a controversial take, right? An industry trade association against “lawsuit abuse” of its members? Seriously, everyone everywhere opposes “lawsuit abuse against physicians.” Does this overblown rhetoric serve any purpose aside from venting outrage and causing a spike in blood pressure? Has the Minnesota Supreme Court, in […]
Upsher-Smith v. Fifth Third: Who’s The Wrong-Doer? Who’s the Victim?
Update (6/7/19): We had the pleasure of wiring millions of dollars to clients this week and, while at the bank initiating the wire transfer, we noted a new filing in the bank-wire fraud case described below. This made our transaction a bit more nerve-wracking than it otherwise would have been. We link to another strong […]
Busting the Seal…
What is the analysis that a federal court undertakes when a third-party comes into court seeking an order to break the seal on confidential deposition transcripts from another lawsuit?