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.
When a system is overwhelmed or underfunded…
Over the past year, Minnesota Litigator joined the chorus of those pointing out the serious challenges facing the Minnesota judicial system — a vital organ of the state (most recently, here). The StarTribune covered an angle in Sunday’s paper.
Not like we see on TV…
Litigators generally spend between 90-99% of their professional lives in their offices, on the phone, in conference rooms — not in court and not in trial. “Ms. Foreperson, has the jury reached a verdict?” is a lot less frequent than negotiation and settlement. But many lawyers spend more time honing their trial advocacy skills at […]
Compucredit: So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good-bye…
Readers of Minnesota Litigator will appreciate that Minnesota Litigator has enjoyed tracking this hard-fought litigation in the U.S. District Court (D. Minn.) for more than a year, and it is now time to bid the combatants adieu.
Deja Vu All Over Again
Cato The Elder, a Roman spokesman, is said to have concluded all of his speeches on the Senate Floor with, “Carthago delenda est” (Carthage must be destroyed). The message finally got through. This is why “the study of Carthaginian history is often problematic” and why Catholicism is a world religion while Carthoginism is a made-up word. We […]
Catholic Church Alleged Abuse Cases: “International Priest Trafficking”
Update (January 13, 2011): Jeff Anderson, St. Paul attorney, crusader for abuse victims, and scourge of the Catholic Church goes transatlantic, establishing a beachhead in London. Original post (August 31, 2010): If an entity runs a school in which it employs someone the entity has reason to believe may be a pedophile, and the entity […]
“Fool me once…”
The old adage, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…,” comes to mind in the Minnesota Court of Appeals decision that came down yesterday in Collins v. Waconia Dodge, out of Carver County, where the case was tried before District Judge Philip T. Kanning. Plaintiff Collins brought a claim against […]
All in the Family: Collateral Damage in Suit Against Debt Collector
Plaintiff Doug Fischbach signed on as co-signor for his daughter Jessica’s credit card when she lived in his home in West St. Paul. She then picked up stakes and moved to Wisconsin, sending notice of change of address to the credit card company. While there, she defaulted on her credit card debt. Dad […]
Keeping Judgments Alive Past The Ten-Year Statute of Limitation
While Minnesota Litigator does not normally cover family law, an imminent Minnesota Supreme Court hearing (tomorrow morning) is a family law matter with implications, perhaps, for civil litigation more broadly in the state.
An Early Discovery Ruling by The District’s Most Recent Magistrate Judge
All experienced civil litigators have learned that the small skirmishes between the filing of a complaint and the final resolution of a lawsuit (resolution whether by trial or settlement) can have far-reaching consequences for the outcome of the litigation and, in many instances, decisions in these skirmishes are effectively unappealable (or pretty close) as a […]
Enforcing a Non-Final Judgment: Pay Now, Appeal Later?
Update #2: $100,000 spoliation sanction: pay up…now. (Today’s order of U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) is only a little longer than this three word summary.) Update (12/15/2011): SGS’ response to Cenveo’s motion to enforce the court’s sanction order asap is here… Original Post: During the course of some litigation, there are […]