Update #2 (April 5, 2011):  DeCook v. Rochester International Airport Joint Zoning Board, a Minnesota Supreme Court decision issued last week, represents a sonic boom that may shake and rattle Minnesota Airport commissions and municipalities for some time to come (previous related posts, after the jump).  A $170,000 diminution in value in a piece of property near an airport — that is, a 3.5%-6.4% diminution in value — was held by the… Continue reading →

…s of the drug, an antibiotic. Levaquin included a warning but sometime after Schedin’s incident, the warning was changed and made more prominent (made into a “black box” warning in 2008).  Subsequent warning label changes would be a classic “subsequent remedial measure” inadmissible at trial if it were not for the fact that the label change was mandated by the FDA, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Tunheim has held. … Continue reading →

ight seem straight-forward (drugs are not supposed to make one sicker, after all (though causation, of course, must be proven)).  Due to the complex interrelationship between the federal regulatory regime (FDA regulation) and Minnesota’s regulatory system (a.k.a. state tort law remedies), however, the clarification of Mensing’s rights (or their absence) is anything but simple.  Mensing brought suit for the generic manufacturer’… Continue reading →

With the recent news of the Biber matter, the rather uncommon settlement term in the Lemond v. Trek lawsuit, and now a certified question to the Minnesota Supreme Court from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, it seems that the deep dark world of child sexual abuse may be getting some needed light and attention, if only to remind victims that many recognize the problem, their suffering, and there are places to go for help (here, to… Continue reading →

Update #2 (September 12, 2011):  Minority shareholders at the mercy of boards of closely held corporations?  Minnesota Supreme Court:  Deal With It Legislatively, The Court Will Not.  In the case described below, decided last week by the Minnesota Supreme Court, minority shareholders in a closely held corporation were, in their view, swindled out of value when their shares in the company were rendered “fractional shares” via a ̶… Continue reading →

The MidCountry v. Krueger et al. case is critical reading for those who need to examine title to property in Minnesota or determine the priority of secured creditors.  The case was described previously on Minnesota Litigator here, a post last November when Minnesota Litigator predicted affirmance of the Court of Appeals.  This week, the prediction was validated. In the previous post, Minnesota Litigator put the issue like this:  ”Caveat Re… Continue reading →

Minnesota Litigator is in its third year, covering “News and Commentary about Minnesota Civil Litigation,” which is a crime by omission.  That leaves out a large swath of Minnesota litigation, of course:  criminal law. Minnesota Litigator is delighted to announce Eric Rice, our newest guest poster, who will recalibrate the scale of Minnesota Litigator by offering insights into the criminal side of Minnesota litigation.  Here is Eric&… Continue reading →

Does Alamo® (propiconazole) to “prevent” fatal oak wilt fungal infection?  No.  It cannot prevent root graft transmission of oak wilt, which is by far the most common source of oak wilt.  Can it cure oak wilt?  No. It cannot.  At best, it might delay the fatal course for some indefinite period of time (a year or two?).  Still, some arborists sell Minnesota property owners propiconazole without making clear that the benefits of “… Continue reading →

…ixed that.)  In practice, it is extremely rare that a case, once transferred to the MDL court, is ever remanded back to another court for trial.  In practice, as in the Levaquin cases in which the MDL court is the District of Minnesota, the MDL court may preside over a number of “bellwether cases” in which a relatively small subset of cases is somehow devised.  These cases are tried, the theory being that plaintiffs and defendants, wh… Continue reading →

As the Minnesota court system continues to struggle to handle its caseload on a seemingly ever-shrinking (or at best stagnant) budget, those in the system and running the system are relentlessly looking for cost savings. Recognizing that the problems are complex, recognizing that the Minnesota court system, like other public and private institutions throughout our state and country, are simply dealing with a dramatic economic downturn that, in t… Continue reading →