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.

Product Recalls & Consumer Class Actions

The O’Neils bought a crib for their grand-children, which they used without incident for four years. The crib was then recalled due to a hardware defect, which could cause a gap in the crib gate and pose a risk of injury or death to infants. After the recall, a retrofit was made available for purchasers. […]

Signed No Agreement to Arbitrate, Still Can Compel Arbitration? Maybe so…

Donaldson Company, Inc. vs Burroughs Diesel, Inc., Case No. 08-2705 (oral argument, 3/13/09) A January 2009 per curiam unpublished 8th Circuit decision reversed the U.S. District Court, E.D. Mo. (Laughrey, J.), on its rejection of a non-signatory’s motion to compel arbitration. Finnie v. Looby, et al., 8th Cir. File No. 07-3526 (filed 1/12/09). The issue […]

No Recusal Based on a Hypothetical Built on a Foundation of Speculation

Judge Richard Kyle, U.S. District Court Judge (D. Minn.) has rejected a motion to recuse himself in a huge raft of litigation against Medtronic based on Medtronic’s Sprint Fidelis defibrillator lead. The basis for the plaintiffs’ motion was the fact that his son, Richard Kyle, Jr., is employed with Medtronic’s outside counsel, Fredrikson & Byron […]

NY Times Praises Minnesota Mortgage Lending Laws

The Sunday New York Times Op Ed page, urging federal legislation, praises Minnesota’s 2007 mortgage legislation while pointing out that it is limited to state-chartered banks (well, not really — it covers mortgage brokers and others as well). See, e.g., Minn. Stat. 58.13 (Standards of Conduct for Mortgage Originators and Servicers). Minnesota attorneys Prentiss Cox, […]

D & O Insurance Coverage for Subpoena Response Costs?

Michael Foods, Inc. has brought an insurance coverage claim against U.S. Specialty Insurance Co. in United States District Court (D. Minn.) based on a coverage claim for Michael Foods’ costs in connection with responding to a subpoena of the U.S. Department of Justice. The policy is a $10,000,000 Directors & Officers policy. The subpoena was […]

8th Circuit Takes on Class Action Fairness Act Jurisdiction: A Defense Win on Removal

Bell v. Hershey, 8th Cir. File No. 08-2458 (oral argument, January 15, 2009; case decided February 25, 2009). Plaintiff brought a class action antitrust lawsuit in Iowa state court pleading $4.99 million in damages to fall under the $5 million jurisdictional amount which is required to get into federal court. (The plaintiff alleged that it […]

Minnesota Mandated “Loan Mods”

A huge obstacle to resolving the U.S. credit crisis appears to be the securitization of loans, which results in a “slicing and dicing” of loans, with one party servicing a particular loan (and servicing rights bought and sold for any particular loan multiple times) and other parties as investors in the loan. With so many […]

Enforcing a Mortgage Against a Non-signing Spouse

When a couple takes out a mortgage loan but one of the two does not sign the mortgage, can the lender foreclose on the mortgage in the event of default on the loan? It would appear not, under Minnesota statutory law, at least. Minn. Stat. 507.02. Wells Fargo, however, is now appealing just such a […]

A Recent Forum Non Conveniens Minnesota Appellate Decision: MN Supreme Grants Cert.

Word today that the Minnesota Supreme Court granted cert on this case, discussed originally on this blog back in December. Paulownia Plantations de Panama Corporation vs. Ambrose Harry Rajamannan, A07-2199 (Minn. Ct. App., 12/10/08) A Man, A Plan, Paulownia Trees, Panama, or “Oh lord, stuck in Anoka County again. Rode in on the greyhound, Ill […]

Strategic Litigation to Chill Public Participation & A Settlement

The Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers Watershed District ordered the establishment of a flood-control project, private owners objected to the compensation offered for their property, protracted litigation ensued, and the parties entered into a settlement agreement resolving the litigation. Minnesota law provides a procedure to avoid or minimize the risk of strategic lawsuits against public participation (an “anti-SLAPP […]