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.
When Do Sharp-Elbowed Business Practices Rise to the Level of Triggering Punitive Damages?
Update (December 19, 2016): The Minnesota punitive damages statute provides: (a) Punitive damages shall be allowed in civil actions only upon clear and convincing evidence that the acts of the defendant show deliberate disregard for the rights or safety of others. (b) A defendant has acted with deliberate disregard for the rights or safety of […]
The Puzzle of Accounting for Future Medical Costs
Sometimes when someone sues another for an injury, the injury is on-going at the time of trial. Medical treatment and costs can persist through the lawsuit and for the rest of the life of the injured person. This injects inherent uncertainty into the important question of compensating victims. How is a jury to figure out […]
What Do These Schools Offer: Degrees or Debt? Chapter 2
Last week, Minnesota Litigator posted on a recent class action filed against Walden University and Laureate Education, not holding back our condemnation of those who exploit the critical importance of higher education in our 21st century economy, those who fleece consumers with hyped, over-priced, and possibly useless products. Minnesota School of Business (MSB) might also belong in […]
A Rare Case of Breast Feuding…
This week, the Star Tribune covered a recent lawsuit brought by a new mother whose two day-old baby was accidentally handed over to the wrong mom and breast fed by this unrelated woman at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. The plaintiff’s lawyer is Wayne A. Jagow. How much do you think this case is worth? What […]
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an ‘men gang aft agley
Update (December 7, 2016): The original post, below, highlights the inherent and dramatic uncertainty of the course of civil litigation. I recently discovered that the saga continues. Minneapolis law firm, Nilan Johnson Lewis (“NJL”) is sitting on a pile of money ($2,300,653.64) related to the settlement of the underlying lawsuit but the handful of litigants […]
What Do These Schools Offer: Degrees or Just Debt?
If the allegations in the 145-page complaint are true, I hope that the recently filed class action against for-profit on-line graduate schools, Walden University and Laureate Education, Inc. shuts these scams schools down for good. Distilled to its essence, the class action complaint alleges that the schools claim to sell graduate school educations and doctoral […]
Shattuck-St. Mary’s REALLY Doesn’t Want a Consolidated Trial…
Update (December 2, 2016): Shattuck-St. Mary was not able to strip me of my successful prediction below. Update (November 23, 2016): It is no surprise that requests to file motions for reconsideration (perhaps more accurately called, “You’re Doing it All Wrong, Boss” Motions) face long odds. We’ll see if Shattuck-St. Mary is able to strip […]
A Critical Caution for Civil Litigators
A recent reminder: U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau (D. Minn.) is strict on deadlines. (Here is an earlier post on the topic.) In the protracted saga of Receiver R.J. Zayed’s litigation against Associated Bank due to its alleged (arguably passive) role in a Ponzi scheme (see previous post, here), the Plaintiff brought a motion […]
Honored to be an American Bar Association Top 100 Law Blog AGAIN!
I am delighted to share that Minnesota Litigator has again been named an ABA Top 100 law blog — first time since 2012! I want to thank our editors (you know who you are!), post contributors, sponsors (listed in the right-side colum), and, most of all, the readers, and, among them, most of all the […]
Courts Citing Law Blogs
Is it okay for courts to cite legal blogs? If you don’t yet read Max Kennerly’s Litigation & Trial, you’re welcome.