On December 27, James Walsh, of the Star Tribune newspaper, reported that Chief Judge Michael Davis has sent out a call for more attorneys’ volunteer representation of pro se civil litigants in federal court. Walsh’s article, however, focuses on one outlandish pro se claim of a voodoo love spell cast on an errant husband, not […]

Bannister v. Bemis Company, Inc., 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (Case No. 08-1634) Argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals on 11/14/08 on appeal by appellant Bemis on rulings of cross-motions for summary judgment by the District Court (Kyle, J., D. Minn.), Bemis appears to be facing a strong headwind in its attempt to reverse […]

Condux International, Inc. v. Haugum, Civil File No. 08-4824 (D. Minn.) 12/15/2008 It is a fact of modern business that, from time to time, employees leave companies and, on their way out, take electronically stored information (electronic files). If the employee, at the time that he accesses and takes the files, is authorized to use […]

A Ponzi scheme, a.k.a., a pyramid scheme, is insolvent almost by definition. One investor’s “principal” investment becomes an earlier investor’s “interest” and thus the Ponzi entity’s liabilities exceed its assets at any given time. When the recent alleged Petters and Madoff multi-billion dollar schemes collapsed and came to light, they left “investors” looking to recover […]

Metro Gold, Inc., vs. Garrett Coin, Minn. Ct. App. A07-2117 (12/10/08) In a case notable for its strange facts, an individual wrote a check for more than $200,000 to buy gold and very shortly thereafter went into a coma, dying a few weeks later. The check bounced. Minnesota law provides for civil penalties against the […]

In re Zurn Products Litigation, MDL No. 08-1958 (ADM/RLE) (U.S. District Court, D. Minn.) Plaintiffs in this multidistrict litigation being handled in Minnesota claim that defendant’s brass plumbing fittings were defective. Defendant’s General Counsel, back in 2004, “counseled [Defendant] that the increased frequency of warranty claims…was creating an identifiable risk of litigation…” The first of […]