Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
Do not consider the blog to be a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your state.
Trains Don’t Normally Go Through Rich Neighborhoods…
It is almost axiomatic that the brunt of large public works projects are more likely be shouldered by poorer neighborhoods if only because the government must pay for the seizure of private property through eminent domain and will tend to try to find the least expensive alternative. All the same, those burdened by governmental incursion […]
Big Win for “Old” BioErgonomics “Outsider” Shareholders
When cutting edge technological ventures are getting off the ground, it is widely recognized that there are tremendous risks along with the potential for tremendous rewards. Investors should go into such “opportunities” with eyes wide open to the risk. Things can get complicated, however, when a venture’s losses are borne by some shareholders (“outsiders”) and […]
Tagged with Liability, Sued By Your Lawyers…Adding Insult To Injury (But Catch Me If You Can?)
Updates #2, 3 (January 28, 2011, February 2, 2011): Caught. (Defendant appears to have been unsuccessful in getting the case dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.) (They have now agreed not to contest service, in exchange for a stipulated extension of time to respond to the complaint.) Update #1 (August 20, 2010): For oenophiles, here is […]
Every Minute Counts, But When Does the Passage of Time = Medical Malpractice?
Minnesota Litigator has frequently noted the significant hurdle to medical malpractice claims under Minnesota law posed by its affidavit of expert review statutes (or for MDs and one for other professionals) and the affidavit has proved impassable for yet another medical malpractice plaintiff. In Hanson vs. McNiff, et al., Dakota County Judge Kathryn D. Messerich […]
Siewart v. Northern States Power, dba Xcel Energy: Minnesota Supreme Court Decision
Update: “If you are going to predict,” my uncle (who was a stock broker) used to advise us, “predict often.” Minnesota Litigator has had a fairly high percentage correct predictions of pending court decisions in the past couple of years, but got this one wrong (see below for a case description and prediction), although it […]
Brain Raids: You Lose Some, You Win Some
One person can invent a medical device and this can result in billions of dollars of revenue. Medical device giants Medtronic and St. Jude know this to be true and the two seem perennially lock in battles to loot one another’s brain banks. Last summer, Minnesota Litigator covered an unsuccessful Medtronic effort. This past week, […]
“The Body” Objects: “Offensive, intrusive, humiliating, degrading and potentially dangerous…”
Former Minnesota Governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura has brought suit against the Transportation Safety Administration, challenging the “whole body imaging” (WBI) procedures at airports. “The Body” filed his complaint yesterday. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson (D. Minn.).
$6,000 per Day for Fake Pot
David Hanners of the Pioneer Press has the story of the hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (D. Minn.) by four Minnesota head shops’ efforts to offer ersatz reefer to Minnesota’s law-abiding but high-seeking citizens. Apparently, there are more of these Minnesotans than at least one upper-middle-aged Minnesota lawyer would have thought. […]
How to Win Every Lawsuit Every Time
Minnesota Litigator recommends the following recipe to win every single lawsuit every single time: (1) a totally meritorious case both as to the facts and the law, (2) the lawyer’s complete mastery of all relevant facts and law, (3) completely unreasonable and obtuse opposing litigants, and (4) a tribunal blessed with the wisdom to tell […]
Irony & Sweet Victory
While Minnesota Litigator touted a CLE on negotiation and settlement this past week in recognition of the fact that “90-99%” of litigators’ lives are not in trial, I was in the middle of a four-day jury trial before the Hon. Thomas M. Neuville in Faribault, Minnesota (Rice County). Christina M. Weber of Wilford & Geske […]