When you’re facing challenges to entries on your privilege log (if you don’t know what a privilege log is, scroll down to the bottom of this post), here are words or concepts you do not want to read in a Magistrate Judge’s ruling after in camera review of withheld documents listed on your privilege log: […]

No one knows better than trial lawyers and judges that “there are two sides to every story” (at least two sides, actually). But, as with all adages, this adage is just wrong in some cases. The latest “brain raid” case of Virtual Radiologic (“vRad”) v. Rabern is looking pretty one-sided at the moment. According to […]

Nancy and Monti Moreno borrowed $333,700 from a mortgage lender to buy a house and a barn in Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota in 2004. They failed to make payments on the loan. The lender, Wells Fargo, brought a lawsuit to foreclose on the property. In that proceeding, in 2015, the court held that the […]

A contract for the sale of goods for the price of $500 or more is not enforceable … unless there is some writing sufficient to indicate that a contract for sale has been made between the parties and signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought…. A writing is not insufficient because it omits or incorrectly states a term agreed upon but […]

The recent news of an 18-month suspension from the practice of law of Minnesota lawyer, Jon Eric Paulson, is worthy of note for two reasons: (1) the broad scope of his alleged wrong-doing; and (2) the concurrence of Justice Ann McKeig (joined by Justices Lillehaug and Hudson): Before being appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, […]

Long-time Minnesota litigators all know retired U.S. District Court Judge James M. Rosenbaum (D. Minn.). (Here is our interview with him from about five years ago.) How many of us would have predicted that, after his retirement from the bench, he’d opt for being the named plaintiff in a consumer class action? Not me. I […]

Update (January 22, 2020): Closing the loop on the post below, this week U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (Chief Judge) affirmed Judge Bowbeer’s decision allowing Taft Stettinius & Hollister (fka Briggs & Morgan) to withdraw. Judge Tunheim made short work of it, largely relying the highly deferential standard owed to magistrate judge decisions […]

Sheila Engelmeier has a long and distinguished career in Minnesota employment law, both counseling and litigating, for both employers and employees. In the interview below, Sheila’s heart, her commitment, her candor, her hard-won expertise and experience, her humility, and her generosity all shine. Her dark outlook on the current climate of the practice of law, […]

Update (January 17, 2020): In a decision this week, the Minnesota Supreme Court has answered the issues discussed below. In sales of condominiums in a newly constructed building, it is now clear under Minnesota law that there is a single warranty date for a condominium building rather than different warranty dates for each unit. (See […]

We recently posted about a “faulty machinery” case (sugar silo reclaimers) and, in that post, we referred to two earlier “faulty machinery” cases (egg-carton presses, pasta boxers). In a nutshell, we queried how these cases could be cost-justified because, it seems to us, whether or not a machine works as promised is not best (or […]