Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
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“The only thing worse than being talked about…
is not being talked about,” said Oscar Wilde, famed Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 – 1900). This seems a particularly fitting “bon mot” for a blogger like Minnesota Litigator whose posts are often greeted by complete silence. (Mercifully, analytic software anonymously tabulates thousands of readers, so Minnesota Litigator takes comfort in that data and […]
35W Bridge Collapse: URS Claim vs. Sverdrup & Parcel (Jacobs Engineering) Successor Tossed Out
UPDATE: This week, the Minnesota Supreme Court granted petitions for review of 35W Bridge-related cases (appellate decisions here and here). Original Post, 8/24/2010: One of the primary targets of the 35W bridge collapse victims’ cases, URS Corp., sought to “give credit where credit is due,” meaning that it hoped that it might get contribution from […]
UCC, Installment Contracts, Battle of the Forms
Company A and Company B agree that A will buy components from B if/when needed, at certain unit prices depending on volume. There is no commitment to buy any widgets. That’s to be determined by later purchase orders, the prices and terms to be reflected in corresponding invoices. In ebm-papst, inc. v. AEIOMed, Inc., plaintiff […]
Judge Schiltz Takes a Swing at the Gordian Knot of TILA Rescission
As discussed previously Minnesota Litigator nearly a year ago, Margaret Coleman was enticed into a bad deal — a high interest loan secured by a mortgage on her house — except that Coleman had a viable claim against the lender for a violation of the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”). In the original December, 2009 […]
Levaquin Trial Begins Monday, November 15 Before U.S. District Court Judge Tunheim (D. Minn.)
“Multi-district litigation” is a procedure in which lawsuits filed throughout the federal court system that are amenable to consolidated “mass” treatment are gathered up in one trial court for “pretrial proceedings.” (The federal statute for “MDL litigation” is here.) The cases are supposed to be remanded for trial in the districts in which the cases were originally […]
BidClerk v. Reed Elsevier: Alleged Corporate Cyber-Attacks
UPDATE: Unfortunately for those that might have found interesting a lawsuit regarding corporate cyber-attacks (see the original post, below), BidClerk and Reed Elsevier apparently resolved their differences fairly quickly and quietly. While “no news is no news” and a quick dismissal gives the public no information (and certainly no admission of wrong-doing), given the detail […]
The Simple Claim of a Harmful Side Effect/The Complexity of Federal Preemption of State Law Claims
The interesting fact pattern that gives rise to the problem in this case is what are the duties of a generic drug manufacturer if, after a drug’s initial federal approval (and approval (and then mandated use) of a specific warning label), new information comes to light about potentially harmful side effects? Can a claim be […]
Lien Rights, Architectural Services: Architects Beware (What is “Actual Notice”?)
UPDATE: Architect KKE provided services to developer, which went belly up, and the issue became whether KKE had mechanics’ lien priority over a lender/mortgagee. The lender’s mortgage loan came after KKE had started architectural work but the lender’s lien was recorded before KKE’s lien was recorded (and before any ground-breaking on KKE’s work). Between KKE’s […]
Constitutional Challenge to Minnesota Supreme Court Ruling in Favor of Debt Collectors
If you share a joint account with a deadbeat, can the debt collector scoop up your hard-earned cash to satisfy the deadbeat’s debt? Without even giving you notice and the opportunity to be heard?? Maybe. The burden of proof will be on you, the non-debtor account-holder, to prove the money in the account traces to […]
Capitol Records v. Thomas-Rasset: Bench-Slap for Harvard Law Professor
UPDATE: A third jury finds damages of $1.5 million this time against Jammie Thomas-Rasset (who had turned down a offer to settle for $25,000). [11/1/2010 post:] U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. Davis (C.J.) appears to have almost instantaneously stricken the 5-page brief of Prof. Charles Nesson of the Harvard Law School, filed in the […]