Minnesota Litigator
News & Commentary
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Eighth Circuit Review of Constitutional Limits on Punitive Damages & Proper Measure of Attorneys Fee Award
On October 20, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals heard argument in a federal housing case in which a jury, after a five-day trial, awarded about $13,000 of compensatory damages, and over $250,000 in punitive damages. The District Court Judge,Donald O’Brien (N.D. Iowa) sharply lowered the jury’s punitive damages award and denied the prevailing plaintiff’s […]
Hecker: Defending Civil Litigation and Preserving Rights in the Event of Criminal Prosecution
Dennnis Hecker faces civil discovery and a number of civil complaints in his personal bankruptcy case and sought the Court’s help (by staying those cases) in preserving his rights as a potential criminal defendant (that is, his right to remain silent) in the event he is criminally charged based on the transactions that are the […]
Case Challenging “Document Preparation Fees” Preempted
In late September, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Casey v. North American Savings, 8th Cir. File No. 09-1096, on an issue of federal preemption in the context of the regulation of federal lending institutions and today the court issued its ruling. It is a case of first impression with […]
Judge Schiltz Holds Starbucks Tip Policy Violates Minnesota Law
While holding that plaintiffs (represented by Nichols Kaster & Anderson) cannot pursue their tip-sharing claim against Starbuck as a class action, the United States District Court, D. Minn. (Judge Patrick Schiltz), recently held that Starbucks policy violates Minnesota law. (Nichols Kaster & Anderson have brought similar claims against Caribou coffee and a Minneapolis strip club.) […]
Edina Law Firm to U.S. Supreme Court: BAPCA & The First Amendment: Update
This case is set for hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court on December 1. Here is all you need to know everything about the case. Milavetz Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. is counsel of record and is also a party in Milavetz, Gallop v. U.S., 08-1119, and U.S. v. Milavetz, Gallop, 08-1225, consolidated cases before the […]
Deadlines happen….Fair Isaac v. Equifax, Experian, et al., TRIAL: 10/29
Update: The Fair Isaac litigation was the subject of an earlier entry (below), a skirmish about deadlines. A deadline, again, is the subject of motion practice. This time it is a motion to exclude Experian’s amended exhibit list as untimely, set for hearing tomorrow afternoon, less than ten days before the scheduled start of trial […]
Preliminary Injunction Hearing on Plaintiff Class Action Challenge to HAMP (Update #2)
Latest news re: Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) Class Action: Judge Ann D. Montgomery heard argument this afternoon on plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction in this putative class action on behalf of individuals who have sought government assistance to avoid foreclosure and eviction from their homes under the HAMP and have been denied that […]
Minnesota Supreme Court Hears Anti-SLAPP Appeal Addressing State Anti-SLAPP Statute for First Time
An interesting little puzzle: if a public entity and a “gad-fly” advocacy group enter into a settlement agreement whereby the gad-fly will not address any further challenges to the public entity’s conduct that he originally challenged through litigation, will a later complaint by the public entity for the breach of that settlement agreement against the […]
Bad News/Good News: Two consumer/insurance class actions…
1) Three-years of litigation, three-week trial, one day’s jury deliberation: Plaintiffs zeroed… In a long and certainly hard-fought class action battle against Allianz Life Ins. Co. of Golden Valley, plaintiffs, led by Karl Cambronne came up empty-handed. Allianz was repesented by a phalanx of lawyers from Jordan Burt, which focuses on insurance and financial services. […]
Minnesota Taking Some PR Hits from NY Times
The Twin Cities, Minnesota, and civil litigation are again making the New York Times today. Last week, it was Minnesota’s star turn as the epicenter of an e. coli tragedy that caught the paper’s attention. It is often said that bad news comes in threes. The Yankees/Twins series rounds out the triad. Enough already. [10/15/09 […]