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.
Defendants Suing Plaintiff’s Lawyers: Going After Some Wrong-Doers, But Maybe Never Wronged?
This blog has covered the lawsuit against plaintiff’s class action lawyers (Bill Lerach, lawyers Kevin Roddy and Spencer Burkholz, and the Milberg law firm) by Grand Casinos and Lyle Berman previously (here and here). Brief background: the Milberg law firm hired a damages expert in shareholder class action cases (Torkelson) who accepted money from the […]
8th Circuit Case of First Impression: Fifth Amendment vs. Insurance Policy Cooperation Clause
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral argument on 1/12/10 on a case of first impression, to be decided under Missouri law as to whether an insured’s invocation of his Fifth Amendment rights violates the “cooperation clause” in his insurance policy and thereby voids coverage under the policy. The facts of […]
WHAMMO! Bankrtupcy Trustee Goes After Hecker
Not a surprising development, but nonetheless worthy of news. The Trustee’s 38-page complaint against Hecker is after the break, and sets out the “Northstate concealment scheme,” the “Girlfriend transfers,” the “Land Rover scheme,” the “Northridge scheme,” the “Rolex scheme,” concealed assets, the “Crosslake scheme” — eight counts attempting to deny Hecker discharge of his debts […]
OUCH! SEC Action v. Zomax Execs Goes Down…
U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen (D. Minn.)concluded her 32-page award of summary judgment in defendants’ favor issued today with a literary reference: In light of the relatively small amounts of the three misstatements at issue, and the apparent low risk that Defendants pose to shareholders of U.S. publicly-traded companies, the Court questions whether the […]
A Discovery Möbius Strip?
If you think of a Möbius strip as a loop turning infinitely in upon itself, it might be an apt metaphor for the strange scenario playing out in federal courts in Minnesota and in Indiana where a company, Loparex, is doing battle on two fronts in litigation arising out of the acquisition of a business […]
Failure to Record Mortgage, an Error Compounded by Three Failed Challenges
Wells Fargo made a mortgage loan, then failed to record the mortgage for whatever (undisclosed) reason, so that, when borrower/homeowner filed for bankruptcy, Wells Fargo was a mere unsecured lender due to its failure to perfect its security interest by recording it. Wells Fargo had been designated as a secured creditor throughout the bankruptcy due […]
Affidavit of Expert Review Fatal to Med Mal Case (Again) Over Strong Dissent
Readers of this blog and those in the Minnesota medical malpractice bar are well aware of Minnesota’s statutory requirements for medical malpractice claims. Today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued an opinion (by Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman, appointed by Gov. Pawlenty to the Court of Appeals in June, 2008, and joined by Judge Jill Flaskamp […]
January 28, 2010: U of M Law School Forum on Judicial Elections
The University of Minnesota Law School and the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies are hosting a forum on January 28 to discuss the future of judicial elections and judicial independence in Minnesota. (Details here.) Forum speakers will include Minnesota Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson (’79), Administrative Law Judge at the Minnesota […]
Can U.S. Magistrate Judges Sanction under Rule 11?
Strange as it may seem, the answer under current law in the Eighth Circuit and, in fact, in many federal courts across the country, is unclear. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has identified the uncertainty and two Second Circuit Judges, Leval and Cabranes, reach opposite conclusions. Having researched this some years […]
Florida Internet Dog’s “Tasty and Informational” Report on Annuities Insufficient To Trigger Minnesota Jurisdiction
A Minnesota company got into a commercial dispute with a Florida company about an employee, working in Florida, who jumped ship from the Florida to the Minnesota company (again, still working in Florida). The two companies had the proverbial “race to the courthouse” filing competing actions on the same day, one in Minnesota federal court […]