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.
Will Sorin Group get a Do-Over in its Lawsuit against St. Jude?
Update (May 8, 2017): In the Sorin v. St. Jude case, covered here at some length previously, the court awarded Defendant St. Jude, the victor at trial, its costs last week (costs claimed: $49,354.24, costs allowed: $47,444.85). At the same time, Sorin’s motion for a new trial, discussed below, is pending. In an earlier post, we […]
D.O.A.?
Update (May 5, 2017): Reading Sr. U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle, Sr.’s recent order on the issue of improper service of process in conjunction with the defendants’ legal brief in support of their motion to dismiss fills us with foreboding for the prospects of plaintiff’s audacious class action complaint based on his receipt of […]
More On the Battle Over Dirty Soy Bean Seed Coats…
Update (May 2, 2017): In the dirty seed coat war, discussed below, we chalk up another successful prediction of Minnesota Litigator. U.S. District Court Judge Wilhemina M. Wright (D. Minn.) stayed the lawsuit in favor of arbitration. So Plaintiff’s lawsuit was a seven month, plus two weeks, plus two days detour in federal court — […]
A Minneapolis Litigation Powerhouse Doubles in Size Overnight
Several years ago, Minnesota Litigator took the position that no lawyer should ever go to trial alone. This might have seemed paradoxical to some readers, coming from LEVENTHAL pllc, a solo lawyer civil litigation firm since its birth, one sunny day back in October, 2010. But, for every trial we have had, LEVENTHAL pllc has teamed […]
Minnesota Supreme Court to Consider the “Closely Related” Doctrine and Personal Jurisdiction
Fair Isaac Corporation (“FICO”) is a Delaware corporation with its HQ now in California (and, before that, with its HQ in Minneapolis (2004-2013)). Callcredit Information Group Limited is an English company with its headquarters in the United Kingdom and offices in Japan, Lithuania, China, and Dubai. Michael Gordon left FICO to become Callcredit’s CEO and, […]
More on the Impossibility of Measuring Damages
The previous post touched on the challenge of setting a dollar amount for sanctions. This week, we also note a six-year long civil lawsuit (and counting), which has been up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit not once, but twice. Maybe the fight about the appropriate measure of damages will result […]
Considering Sanctions
As anyone who likes to think about words and the English language will agree, “sanction” is an odd word. It can mean its opposite as in “The N.F.L. sanctioned the Make-a-Wish Foundation event” vs. “The judge sanctioned the N.F.L. lawyers.” One sentence uses “sanction” to mean “officially permit” or “approve.” The other means a “penalize,” […]
Advice on the Retirement of a Solo Law Practice (Get out while the getting’s good?)
Scott Richardson, a third-generation Austin, Minnesota lawyer, is turning 70 years old this year and he’s retiring from the practice of law. He wrote about the experience in the April issue of Bench and Bar, the Minnesota State Bar Association magazine and gave his fellow solo/small firm lawyers valuable and practical information, difficult if not impossible […]
When There is No Right Answer, Whose Answer is Wrong?
Update (April 12, 2017): Below is a string of posts stretching over the past four years in which Minnesota Litigator emphasizes that “valuation is an inexact science” but that does not mean that valuations or appraisals are entirely manipulable and worthless. Sometimes, though, we wonder. Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an opinion on an appeal […]
Could Computer Software Pass the Multistate Professional Ethics Exam (the MPRE)? Should it Be Required to?
Update (April 10, 2017): In the original post below, we pondered the idea of computers replacing civil litigators, suggesting it might be at least a decade or two away. To be more precise, the complete replacement of civil litigators by computers is at least a decade or two away. As for the partial replacement, you are out of […]