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.
U.S. Supreme Court Clears Way for FAA Stay by Non-Signatory
This week, reversing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the US Supreme Court (Scalia, writing for the majority) held that no federal law bars a State from allowing one party, a non-signatory to an arbitration agreement, from invoking an arbitration agreement signed by an adversary with a third-party and, on that basis, […]
Tomorrow’s the Last Day to Hug A Juror
Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric J. Magnuson has proclaimed May 4-8 Juror Appreciation Week. The Judicial Branch will use this occasion to express appreciation for those Minnesotans who have answered the call to jury service. Granted, our court system relies on the significant commitment, dedication, and sacrifice of those who serve on juries but […]
Minnesota Tax on Legal Services?
For the time being, it seems that the possibility of a newly imposed tax on legal services in Minnesota has diminished. The linked blog entry and accompanying comments are by an large informative of the issues and respective positions. In my view, while recognizing that Minnesota courts are desperately underfunded, the cost of U.S. legal […]
Major Win for Class Action Defendants in Minnesota
For quite a few years, trial courts’ consideration of whether or not to certify a class of certain kinds of putative class action claims (securites fraud, consumer class actions, certain employment class actions, environmental cases, mass accidents) have been perfunctory, at best. Many plaintiffs in such cases have intoned the requirements of Rule 23 of […]
Sanctions Against Dorsey & Whitney Reversed by 2d Circuit
This should be end of a saga in which one former New York/Dorsey & Whitney partner’s serious ethical lapses bled over onto other New York/Dorsey lawyers and the firm itself, but the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the sanctions against the firm and the remaining Dorsey lawyers, squarely focusing blame and responsibility on the now-departed […]
A Win for Debt Collectors & Lawyers Against the Minnesota AG
In an unpublished Minnesota Court of Appeals decision, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a complete victory for defendant/debt collector/law firm Messerli & Kramer P.A. in a case brought by the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis and a sister case by Lori Swanson, Minnesota’s Attorney General. Messerli & Kramer had sought and been awarded default […]
Weak Proof of Damages = No Damages
Some lawyers and clients over-focus on the liability aspect of cases and they short-change the damages side. Almost all civil litigation is about money — it’s ultimately about the damages — but liability — “who’s at fault?” — is more graspable and sometimes it is the better handled part of litigation. In U.S. Salt, Inc. […]
Punitive Damages: Emerging Clarity?
All defendants reasonably want to know the degree of exposure they face in litigation. Particularly early on in a lawsuit, before discovery, trying to assess the likelihood of punitive damages can be a hard call for some cases and predicting the amount of punitive damages may be extremely difficult if not impossible with any satisfactory […]
All 35W Bridge Victims Take State Settlements. One Chapter Over, Many More to Follow
As the deadline approached on claims to the state fund for the August, 2007 I-35W Bridge collapse victims, a flurry of effort resulted in all victims participating in the state settlement fund. By accepting payments from the Minnesota fund, victims are not barred from pursuing additional compensation from, say, private entities related to bridge and […]
Class Action vs. Mortgage Lender
Since at least 2007, some in the the mortgage lending industry have been concerned that the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (“HMDA”), which mandates data reporting regarding loan applications and loan terms, would be used by plaintiffs’ counsel as supposed evidence of racially biased mortgage lending decisions or mortgage lending terms. Yesterday, while not mentioning […]