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.
The ANSI/OSHA Compliant Ladder Fight Continues…
Update (2/4/22): As suggested in the long string of posts, below, we have never been particularly moved by the plaintiff’s case in this battle of ladder manufacturers. As described below, the fight’s about whether a certain ladder design is “ANSI compliant” and, if not, whether claims that it is violate the law. After a bench […]
An Important Minnesota Decision on Attorney-Client Privilege in the Corporate Context
The Minnesota Supreme Court, over a strong dissent (by Justice Anderson, joined by Chief Justice Gildea), decided recently, in a decision penned by Justice Anne K. McKeig, that Polaris, a prominent Minnesota manufacture of all-terrain vehicles, snow mobiles, and more could not withhold a report, in its entirety, from discovery in a lawsuit brought by […]
You Cannot Surrender What’s Not Yours to Give Up.
In the on-going saga of Southern Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC) v. Agri Systems (previous posts, here and here), we observe the classic slightly silly trial lawyer scenario when (1) Party A advocates for Position A (no jury), (2) the adversary, Party B, fights for Position “Not-A” (trial by jury) (3) Party B reverses course, […]
A Broken Justice System and Another Update on the Multi-Year Multi-Million Dollar Slip’n’Slide Siege
Update (June 11, 2021): Have a look at the string of posts, below, and the linked decision of this week (on the subject of the disqualification of trial counsel when two of plaintiffs’ lawyers are likely witnesses at trial), and help us understand how there is not a serious problem with our civil litigation system. […]
The ANSI/OSHA Compliant Ladder Fight Continues…
Update (4/28/2021): Apparently this long-running case might finally go to trial. The two sides disputed whether the case would go to trial before a judge (U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud (D. Minn.)) or a judge (U.S. District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud (D. Minn.)) (plus an advisory jury). Judge Tostrud resolved that dispute […]
King’s Cove v. Lambert Commercial Construction: Insurance Coverage Law Nerdfest (UPDATE)
The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that “the insurance policy does not cover all of the claimed property damage and a Miller-Shugart settlement agreement that fails to allocate between covered and uncovered claims is not per se unreasonable and unenforceable.” Our prediction, below, was wrong for the most part. While the Minnesota Supreme Court both […]
Good news! Court records now available online!
A post by Karen Cole At last! Minnesota courts are making many district court records available online. You can now search by case number for many district court documents filed after July 1, 2015. Public court documents will now be accessible online for most types of civil and criminal case cases. Only court-generated documents will […]
Caveat Creditor: Entering a Judgment vs. Docketing a Judgment and Why it Matters….
As all civil litigators know and any experienced litigants, well over 90% of lawsuits settle before trial. That is, many end in compromise settlements, i.e., voluntary transfers of money, most often, precluding the need for any further court or legal action. Nevertheless, as thousands of cases resolve by negotiated settlements, many more thousands of lawsuits […]
Ace in the Hole: Target Data Breach Insurance Coverage Case
Update (February 8, 2021): The post, immediately below, was a complete “prediction failure.” U.S. District Court Judge Wilhemina M. Wright (D. Minn.) rejected Target’s motion for partial summary judgment in this insurance coverage dispute over Target’s losses from a huge data breach and granted the insurer’s motion. We’ll see if Target appeals the decision and […]
Schiltz-Regulation of the Minnesota Civil Litigator Bar
Minnesota lawyers, are supposedly self-regulating. Do you get the joke? What in the world is “self-regulation”? (See The Myth of Self-Regulation, Fred C. Zacharias (Minnesota Law Review)). Who thought up this notion of self-regulation, we wonder? (Hint: Lawyers). Seriously, the concept of self-regulation is complicated and nuanced. As such, it is inappropriate to address in […]