Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
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Minn. Supreme Court’s First Look at the Minnesota Anti-SLAPP Statute in a “Peculiar Situation”
Here are some typical scenarios in which state “Anti-SLAPP” statutes come into play: (1) subject of newspaper exposé of fraud sues paper for defamation, newspaper story is accurate and the fraudster’s lawsuit against the newspaper is frivolous – the statute provides a means for the newspaper to dispose of the case quickly and get its […]
Suddenly all alone in the hot seat…
When Minnesota Litigator noted yesterday’s decision in a case with a defendant, Blast-Tek, the initial thought was that U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle (D. Minn.) had timed a decision involving a pyrotechnics company just in time for the Independence Day fireworks, but no such luck. Blast-Tek built and sold a bulk abrasive sandblaster that […]
Yet another reminder re: citizenship of LLCs & Federal Diversity Jurisdiction
We’re coming up on a holiday weekend and presumably counsel and clients alike do not relish unforeseen “to do” items imposed the latter part of this week, with a deadline of early next week. That is the fate of defendants in CH Robinson v. Maxxum Group LLC, et al. Defendants removed the case from state […]
Tagged with Liability for Backing Out of a Deal: No Recourse Against The Lawyer…
Professional malpractice claims may be some of the most challenging cases to bring for a host of reasons but there such cases brought every day. Ralph Schmitz was negotiating a transaction with the help of legal counsel from the law firm of Rinke Noonan. The deal did not go forward. Consequently, Schmitz got sued and $1 […]
Jumping the gun on summary judgment….
Defendants sometimes get sued and, on the day they receive the complaint (or maybe even earlier?), they know of a fatal infirmity (or two?) in the claims against them. If the plaintiffs’ lawyers have done their job, though, the weakness would probably be factual and not legal. (That is, the fatal infirmity would not be […]
Note To Client: When You Settle a Case, Agreeing to Pay Money, Pay the Money
Lazaro Ortiz brought suit against The University Club of St. Paul and others for alleged employment discrimination. The parties agreed to settle their differences in large part, one would expect, based on the payment of money from the defendants to the plaintiff. But the settlement all signed and delivered, the money was not forthcoming. Apparently, […]
“[H]eavy reliance upon outdated cases, which are wholly undermined by the more recent decisions…, is unconvincing.” [OUCH]
Moving to amend a complaint to add parties is increasingly tricky these days, and, as District of Minnesota U.S. Mag. Judge Erickson’s recent order (here) highlights, plaintiffs delay or put off moving to amend at their peril. Having elected not to conduct any formal discovery when it was available to it, Linamar has abjectly failed to demonstrate […]
GLBT Pride v. Minneapolis Parks & Recreation: Reconciling Antagonistic First Amendment Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that the organization that puts on the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Massachusetts can exclude gay and lesbian participation consistent with the First Amendment (Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, & Bisexual Group of Boston, Inc., 515 U.S. 557 (1995)), so can GLBT Pride exclude an anti-gay participant in its […]
Is a “Dead Bear” a “Wild Animal”? No, not necessarily…
R.J. Swenson, owner of a farm in Fifty Lakes, Minnesota, found a dead bear on his property in November, 2007. Swenson, a hunter, was interested in getting the bear’s head stuffed by a taxidermist but also wanted to be sure that this would not violate rules of Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources, so he had […]
CompuCredit v. Akanthos et al.: The Battle Rages On….
As covered on Minnesota Litigator repeatedly over the past year, the CompuCredit case has been hard fought and today’s Star Tribune reports that the latest chapter is a motion for sanctions against CompuCredit’s counsel, Robins Kaplan. In due course, Minnesota Litigator will follow up but for now, simply posts defendants’ memorandum in support of their […]