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.
Intellectual Property Litigation: High Reward but also High Risk
It seems that being branded an “intellectual” is widely regarded as an insult in the United States. U.S. Politicians fear being labeled “egg-heads.” We seem to revere the doers and sneer at the thinkers (as if one can succeed without the other). There seems to be a deep conviction among many Americans that “intellectuals” (1) […]
Minnesota Litigator Milestone Passed: 2,000+ Blog Posts
The Minnesota Litigator blog, “News and Commentary About Minnesota Civil Litigation,” has now officially posted more than 2,000 entries over its 9-year life. Thanks to our many contributors, editors, commenters, critics, and, above all, to our faithful and voracious readers. As we have said time and again, Minnesota Litigator is only good when it benefits from (and […]
Welcome News of Cut Cutting
It has been a while since Minnesota Litigator has lamented what it calls “the Minnesota hair-cut” — that is when, in our view, Minnesota courts go wild with the clipper on attorney fee petitions. The hiatus is not because this trend has abated. It just gets boring to highlight every time lawyers have their fees slashed by […]
Ambiguous Unambiguousness?
Update (March 24, 2017): Sr. U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty’s opinion in the dispute described below makes the case look like a no-brainer. Plaintiff Ayala had an agreement with his employer, CyberPower, that his salary would be $X until the business had revenue of over $Y million (at which time he would get […]
Kokocinski Sunk
Update (March 20, 2017): About three years ago, in connection with the lawsuit of Kokocinski v. Medtronic, Minnesota Litigator expressed reservations about the tough obstacle before plaintiffs’ lawyers placed by the PSLRA (Private Securities Litigation Reform Act) and an alternative avenue toward recovery that plaintiffs and their lawyers were forced to pursue: the shareholders’ derivative lawsuit […]
Minnesota Litigator Profile: Rachhana Srey
While every life story is unique, Minnesota litigator Rachhana Srey’s journey (and her whole family’s history) is particularly amazing. Ms. Srey was born in a chicken coop in a refugee camp in Cambodia and she is now a preeminent wage-and-hour class action plaintiff’s lawyer in Minnesota at the law firm of Nichols Kaster. Profiling Ms. […]
Sometimes you feel like a judge. Sometimes you don’t. (Civil Procedure March Madness!)
Update (March 16, 2017): It is widely known that plaintiffs’ lawyers tend to want juries to decide cases. Defense lawyers tend to want judges to decide cases (aka “bench trials”). The Blue Cross v. Wells Fargo case was no exception. The Blue Cross v. Wells Fargo case went to a jury, with certain issues reserved […]
Practice Pointer: “No evidence that the Parties Executed a Retainer Agreement…” = BAD.
The Minnesota/Texas law firm of Droel pllc had its lawsuit against a client thrown out of Minnesota court for lack of jurisdiction even though the law firm had exchanged “hundreds” of communications between themselves and Turnkey, their Texas client. Regular readers of Minnesota Litigator know we have a preoccupation with the doctrine of personal jurisdiction […]
More on Antone v. Mirviss and the Statute of Limitation for Legal Malpractice Under Minnesota Law
Here’s a hypothetical situation: In, say, 2010, John Doe agreed to lend a Business Partner (“BP”) money and, in exchange, BP agreed that John Doe could mine gravel on BP’s real property in years to come. John Doe (“JD”) hired Lawyer to document this transaction in 2010. Lawyer did not have a background in documenting […]
When Do Juries Need Experts?
Trademark-related litigation is a common area for disputes on the need for expert opinions. Plasti Dip™ is suing Rust-Oleum in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (Tunheim, J.) for Rust-Oleum’s competing product, FlexiDip™. Both are rubberized coatings that can either be peeled off or left on, both sold at Home Depot, one right next […]