Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
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ADT v. Swenson: The P.R. Campaign From Hell
Update (5/26/2011): ADT seems one step closer to having a Minnesota jury trial and the late production of documents, referenced below, may complicate its defense considerably (see pages 16-20 of this week’s order). Update (5/3/2011): U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) heard argument on a number of motions on May 2. Amanda […]
Curtis v. Altria Group: A Major Case Pending Before the Minnesota Supreme Court
If you have any interest in consumer fraud litigation in Minnesota you need to know about this case. An appeal of a Minnesota Court of Appeals decision favorable to the plaintiffs’ class is pending before the Minnesota Supreme Court. If allowed to stand, it is the end of the world as we know it, according […]
Midland Funding LLC: The Other Shoe Drops
Midland Funding undoubtedly hoped that the challenges to its debt-collecting practices would be laid to rest when it settled a three-year class action lawsuit in the Northern District of Ohio but it was not to be. Last week, United States District Court Judge David A. Katz held that the State of Minnesota’s action against Midland […]
Minnesota Law Blogs: The List Continues to Grow…
Update (May 25, 2011): Note also Gray Plant Mooty’s “entreview” blog, a blog about entrepreneurship started in March. In late 2010, Greg Luce and the Minnesota State Bar Association put out their list of “top 25 Minnesota law blogs” (which they call “blawgs” and, among which, they included Minnesota Litigator, naturally (“a gem of a […]
Caveat Mower
Every winter, a few Minnesotans die falling from their roofs clearing ice and snow. Every summer, some Minnesotans die from accidents when mowing the lawn (Strib picked up this most recent story here)(although, as we all know, non-fatal but still devastating mowing injuries are far more frequent). Sometimes these situations can touch on a controversial […]
A Pro Se Complaint By a Law Firm (?)
Update (May 23, 2011): Fish & Richardson might have thought they’d win its “pro se lawsuit” without a fight. Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t. Time will tell. (F&R won a default judgment against its former client/current adversary, an Israeli company, but the company, Camtek, is moving to vacate the default judgment that F&R won […]
Expert Opinion in Salary Discrimination Cases
Minnesota Litigator Guest Poster TJ Conley notes: Chief Judge Michael Davis of the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis recently spent 35 pages sorting through various issues in a race, national origin and age discrimination case brought by a Nigerian-born professor against St. Cloud State University in Onyiah v. St. Cloud State University. Ultimately, Judge Davis granted summary judgment […]
A Good Samaritan Takes One on the Chin
Update (May 19, 2011): Today the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its denial of a petition for review — most likely the end of the road for Mr. Schroepfer’s case. Original post (March 18, 2011): Ron Schroepfer was in the Finish Line Cafe in Princeton, Minnesota (Sherburne County) and another patron of the bar was behaving […]
“Erroneous Government Action is not Necessarily ‘Wrongful.'”
The Sarpals sought and obtained approval to build a pool shed in their yard from the city of North Oaks. Later, the city ordered the Sarpals to move the shed, saying that it was improperly placed in part on property over which the city had an easement. (This, by the way, was no portable hut. […]
Mooney v. Allianz: Allianz Unsuccessful In Attempt to Broaden Its Series of Wins Still Farther
Update #3 (May 17, 2011): The Mooney class action was filed in U.S. District Court (District of Minnesota) in February, 2006. Anyone who wants to track the long hard road of nationwide class action litigation should read the string of posts below and U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery’s decision, issued last week, in […]