When it rains, it pours. And, when your neighbor’s field dike doesn’t work properly, it floods your farm. In a new decision, the Eighth Circuit addressed this important question: How long can I wait to sue my neighbor for flooding my property?  The Answer:  2 years.

Construction defect cases often pose the issue of whether they are beyond the statute of limitation because, often, defects become known gradually over time and the issue is when the plaintiff first knew or should have known about “the injury” (First sighting of a water-stain on a wall? Peeling paint? Small amount of mold? and […]

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FDCPA, can be a harsh and unforgiving statute for debt collectors, setting out fairly exacting standards on acceptable and unacceptable conduct related to debt collection (and providing for fee-shifting). (Some of the FDCPA’s rules are (or should be) nearly self-evident — it is improper to make empty threats, harassing […]

Jurisdiction/Choice-Of-Law Drunken Defendant collided head-on with a vehicle driven by Plaintiff on the Blatnik Bridge, which spans the St. Louis River between Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota. Plaintiff was driving toward Wisconsin; Defendant “was driving toward Minnesota, but in the Wisconsin-bound lane,” as the Court of Appeals put it. (I favor compass directions and the […]

Abbotts v. Campbell, 8th Cir. Case No. 08-1349 (filed 12/29/08) Investors in an ultimately worthless venture brought claims admittedly well beyond the applicable six-year Minnesota statute of limitation, seeking equitable tolling under Minnesota law. A crucial fact in the case was that a particular document, defendants’ waiver of certain rules governing the sale of securities, […]