Were you sold a flare root injection regimen for a treasured oak or multiple oaks on your property to prevent oak wilt disease, only to have your tree die from oak wilt notwithstanding the hundreds of dollars (or more) spent on flare root injection? One label on branded propiconazole says,  “Preventive application is more effective than therapeutic treatment.”  Some companies that “administer” the flare root injections d… Continue reading →

…njection regimen for a treasured oak or multiple oaks on your property to prevent oak wilt disease, only to have your tree die from oak wilt notwithstanding the hundreds of dollars (or more) spent on flare root injection? One label on branded propiconazole says,  “Preventive application is more effective than therapeutic treatment.”  Some companies that “administer” the flare root injections do so with a guaranty or warran… Continue reading →

…jury trial, the jury deliberating for a mere 38 minutes.  (His appeal is still pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (discussion of the appeal, below)).  This week, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim at least showed Kaplan some sympathy in overruling the award of costs against him.  Costs are usually borne by the loser at trial (not attorneys’ fees, but certain court costs) but when a losing party i… Continue reading →

…e U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, is a cattle-rustling operation, WCFC is being accused of having wrongfully pocketed the proceeds of a cattle transaction gone bad. Plaintiff Rabo Agrifinance Inc.  (through John R. Brakke of the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo) has charged WCFC with “conversion” and, last Friday, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) denied WCFC’s motion to dismiss.  WCFC’s reject… Continue reading →

…ction counsel and agent, Gurstel Chargo down from a debt of over $33,000 to a $4,000 settlement. Late in the game, however, GC sniffed out some lettuce in the Petsches’ bank account.  Too late, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) ruled last week.   From the defendants’ perspective, they probably feel like wascally wabbits got away this time around. The Petsches, it would seem, have something to be thankful about this … Continue reading →

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 often “non-final” disputes resolved along the way… Continue reading →

[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 the litigation as a basis for not delivering the death-blow of default judgment on… Continue reading →

Update (March 22, 2011):   Regular readers will recognize from the subject line that this is the case involving tragic murders and an alarm system that failed to prevent them.  U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim (D. Minn.) issued an 87-page order yesterday on summary judgment motion and motions to exclude experts.  At page 55, the judge sets out the facts on which he relies to permit the case to go to the jury for punitive damages against… Continue reading →

Many have followed the Levaquin litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota before U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim.  Plaintiffs’ lawyers won big in Round #1, the case of John Schedin. They did not fare so well in Round #2, the case of Calvin Christenson. Minnesota Litigator cannot go through the deep analysis to understand the differences between the two plaintiffs’ cases (if there are any meaningfu… Continue reading →