Update No. 2 (May 12, 2011): Defendants’ “reconsideration gambit” failed. Plaintiff then turns around and tries its luck at the same game. This case, brought in 2008, is set for trial Sept.6, 2011. With the potential upside of punitive damages knocked out (at least until a successful appeal of the denial of leave to amend […]
Update (August 19, 2019): This past week U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Schiltz (D. Minn.) weighed in on the somewhat confusing doctrine of good faith and fair dealing in Minnesota in the context of an insurance coverage dispute, a doctrine that we discussed in the original post below. As we discussed in the post […]
“This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper,” concludes T.S. Eliot’s 1925 poem, The Hollow Men. It is, of course, a “gimme” — to make world-ending predictions because no one will be around to say whether you got it right. For the record, for the end of the world, I […]
One of the many procedural niceties of civil litigation that escapes the attention of most people almost always, and even many lawyers often, is the timing for enforcing judgments. When do I see the $$$? If I win at the trial court on a claim that comes with attorneys’ fees, can I be awarded attorneys’ […]
Update (April 14, 2011): Those interested in e-discovery and how the sanctions motion played out in the case, described below, will find this (Court Order on Motion for Sanctions) and this (e-Discovery protocol) of interest. Original Post (March 30, 2011): What percentage of civil litigation, in terms of time and money, is spent “fighting about […]
Update #2: $100,000 spoliation sanction: pay up…now. (Today’s order of U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) is only a little longer than this three word summary.) Update (12/15/2011): SGS’ response to Cenveo’s motion to enforce the court’s sanction order asap is here… Original Post: During the course of some litigation, there are […]
[UPDATE #2: Mag. Judge Arthur J. Boylan’s $100,000 spoliation sanction against Southern Graphic Systems upheld by U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim.] [UPDATE: Updating this drama that unfolded in June, see linked brief: the Plaintiff’s objections to Judge Boylan’s sanction (arguing that it did not go far enough and unfairly faulted plaintiff’s tactics in […]
[UPDATE: Minnesota Litigator has covered the hard-fought Cenveo v. Southern Graphic Systems case repeatedly. In the latest installment of this serial, Cenveo prostrates itself before the Court in abject apology for an over-length brief and an erroneous word count after having asked for leave to file an over-length brief, which the Court denied. The point […]
On paper, the legal hurdle for obtaining punitive damages in civil litigation in Minnesota does not look very high. As all Minnesota civil litigators know, one’s original complaint must not include a claim for punitive damages. One must bring a motion to amend the complaint to add one. When bringing that motion, one only needs […]