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.

City Center v. Office Depot: Making a Federal Case out of Eviction

It is relatively rare to have an eviction proceeding in federal court but when landlord and tenant are from different states and the stakes are high enough, it can happen. Tenant Office Depot removed an action for eviction brought against it by landlord City Center, and now finds itself before U.S. Judge Richard Kyle (D. […]

$80,000 for Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me? How about $2,250?

Chief Judge Michael Davis (D. Minn.) has reduced the judgment against Jammie Thomas-Rasset down from $80,000 per illegally downloaded song to $2,250. (The earlier jury verdict covered here.) (Today’s opinion, after the break.)Capitol Records v Jammie Rasset

MN Supreme Court Reversal on Pre-Lien Notice Requirements

Back in 1973, then Attorney General Warren Spannaus said, “Under the Minnesota lien provisions, a homeowner sometimes finds that he must compensate persons who are entirely unknown to him for their contribution to the improvement of his property—this despite his having already paid his contractor in full for the improvement.”  A law was passed to […]

Caveat Advocate: Deadlines Matter (and an 8th Cir. Employment Discrimination Plaintiff’s Win)

In a published opinion released today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Smith, Bye, Colloton, opinion by Smith) reaffirmed its long-held and not controversial view that “being very busy” does not qualify as “excusable neglect” for missing a court deadline and, as a result, the plaintiff in an employment discrimination case lost […]

City Attorney Discrimination Claim Against City Attorney’s Office Dismissed

Judge Michael J. Davis (D. Minn.) has adopted the December 3, 2009 Report and Recommendation (R&R) of Mag. Judge Keyes dismissing claims by attorney Julie Delgado-O’Neil (through her lawyer, Jill Clark) that she was the victim of racial discrimination by the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office (a complaint first reported here). Mag. Judge Keyes’ “R&R” is […]

ACLU v. TiZA Lawsuit: Threats, Intimidation, Hate Mail and How This Relates (or Does Not) To A Protective Order

We recently covered Defendant TiZA’s extremely broad view of a proposed protective order in the case.  We now have the ACLU’s response (here).  Of particular interest is the news that threats and intimidation have apparently caused a third-party witness whom the ACLU wished to depose to cancel the deposition.  “Stopping TIZA’s intimidation of potential witnesses […]

Terrible News/Worse News…

Back in July, we reported on an unfortunate gamble (in retrospect) of a plaintiff who had the choice between a jury verdict reduced by the judge or a new trial. He went for a new trial and he got “zeroed,” a jury verdict of $0.00.  But the Court awarded plaintiff $1.00, giving him a chance […]

Federal Bar Association, MN Chapter, January Presentation: Tunheim on Judicial Administration

At today’s FBA luncheon, U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim (D. Minn.) walked the audience through a whirlwind of matters that have been or are catching the attention of the United States Courts’ Court Administration and Case Management Committee, on which Judge Tunheim has served for ten years, the past four as Chairman: Cameras in the courtroom; […]

Tom Petters and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Guatemala

The U.S. Government through the U.S. Attorney’s Office (D. Minn., B. Todd Jones, U.S. Attorney) moved for a preliminary order for forfeiture on Friday from businesses of convicted swindler Thomas J. Petters. The breadth of Petters’ wrong-doing is breath-taking and, to give a feeling of the scale, note that Petters had $35,353,320,826.13 of deposits in […]

Did I say, “No”? Meant to say, “Yes.” What Changes are OK to a Deposition Transcript?

Mag. Judge Arthur J. Boylan (D. Minn.) ruled on Friday (1/15/10) on a discovery dispute in ADT Security Services v. Selige Swenson, et al., Civil File No. 07-cv-2983 (JRT/AJB), that ADT could amend deposition testimony — not to change “Laurence” to “Lawrence,” or some other minor correction but, rather, to reverse testimony completely. The case […]