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.
Another Tough Challenge to The Scope of Schools’ Responsibilities to its Students
Update (October 5, 2016): U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery (D. Minn.) denied Shattuck-St. Mary School’s motion for summary judgment and its motion to exclude Plaintiff’s expert today. The only “success” that the school might celebrate is that Judge Montgomery agreed with U.S. Mag. Judge Steven E. Rau’s determination that two of the plaintiffs […]
“hereistrouble@gmail.com”
The Star Tribune reported last week that John V. Heath, “an Edina financial advisor,” pleaded guilty to stealing money from an elderly client incapacitated with dementia. He set up an email account, “hereistrouble@gmail.com” as part of the scheme. Indeed. As a civil litigator, what I find worth noting about Heath’s fraud is that Wings Financial, Mr. Heath’s bank, […]
A Federal Trial Judge’s Letter on the Threshold of Trial: Civil Trial Gold
Update (September 28, 2016): Could Wells Fargo v. United States, discussed in several posts below, actually go to trial at the end of October? Sure seems like it. The Bank and the Feds have been litigating the case for 6+ years, which would have allowed several opportunities for settlement along the way. The linked correspondence from […]
A St. Jude Heart to Heart….Are You a Case of the Pot Calling the Kettle Black?
Update (September 26, 2016): We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of my original post, below, and, in mid-November, if Sorin and St. Jude do not meanwhile settle their dispute, there will be a jury trial with a Faegre Baker Daniels team on one side and a Dorsey & Whitney trial team on the other — that is, two of […]
How Do We Decide Whether Claimed Attorneys’ Fees Are “Reasonable”? How Should We?
Update (September 23, 2016): Mysteriously, plaintiff Minnesota Vikings Football Stadium (“MVFS”), having won its lawsuit against Wells Fargo, and the corresponding rights to an injunction and to its attorneys’ fees (claimed to be $655,020.00), has confidentially settled the matter with its erstwhile opponent. And, as part of that settlement, MVFS has withdrawn its claim to its attorneys’ fees. So we […]
WARNING: You are NOT IN THE CLEAR When The Check “Clears”
Update (September 23, 2016): Minnesota lawyers who do not read Minnesota Litigator can miss out on valuable information (linked is a complaint this week by Crabtree Health Law vs. Wells Fargo because Crabtree got stung in a now-classic scam.). Update (February 20, 2013): The string below concerns the sorry history of lawyers scammed by counterfeit checks and […]
With Frenz Like This…
Referee Jason T. Hutchison, Judicial Referee, heard this matter on January 28, 2016, February 16, 2016, March 4, 2016, March 11, 2016, March 16, 2016, March 21, 2016, March 28, 2016, March 29, 2016, April 14, 2016, April 18, 2016, April 26, 2016, April 27, 2016, April 29, 2016, May 19, 2016, May 20, 2016, June 1, 2016, […]
Free Speech at Defamation’s Crossroad
The Minnesota Court of Appeals described this week’s decision in Range Development v. Star Tribune: This case stands at the intersection of common-law defamation, the First Amendment right to free speech, and the parameters of a journalist’s privilege, if any, under the First Amendment. (Opinion at p. 6.) In other words, this case is where the action is, where the laser […]
Free Speech vs. Costly Speech
Imagine intentionally alarming the public with fabricated dangers of a company’s life-saving medical devices in the hope that the company’s share price will fall and you will make massive profits by placing bets on the company’s falling share price. This is, in fact, what St. Jude Medical has accused “short-seller,” Muddy Waters Consulting (“MW”) of having done in a […]
A Double-Header: Two cases on Rule 5.04 Decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court
Update: It’s a time of transition. The Twins season is winding down. And the Minnesota Supreme Court is issuing the last of its decisions from the past term. Two important decisions were just released: Gams and Cole. These cases decide how two rules mesh – rule 5.04(a) and rule 60.02. Rule 5.04(a) was amended […]