Failure to Record Mortgage, an Error Compounded by Three Failed Challenges

…ecured status came to light (about nine months after the bankruptcy case had been closed), the bankruptcy trustee reopened the case, filed a complaint against Wells Fargo, and won summary judgment before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Nancy Dreher (D. Minn.) to avoid the transfer of mortgage to Wells Fargo as preferential (a transfer, if not perfected prior to filing for bankruptcy, is deemed to occur immediately prior to filing). Wells Fargo appealed th… Continue reading

Schedin v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. Heading to The 12-Person Jury

…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

The Simple Claim of a Harmful Side Effect/The Complexity of Federal Preemption of State Law Claims

The interesting fact pattern that gives rise to the problem in this case is what are the duties of a generic drug manufacturer if, after a drug’s initial federal approval (and approval (and then mandated use) of a specific warning label), new information comes to light about potentially harmful side effects?  Can a claim be brought against the manufacturer under state law for failure to warn? Gloria Mensing took a medicine, MCP, a gene… Continue reading

Dorsey Obtains Reversal of Decision Against Dorsey Itself

…, that was soon insolvent. Bremer Bank, an investor, claimed it was a third-party beneficiary of Dorsey’s representation of Miller & Schroeder. The decisions against Dorsey started with a 100+ page decision by Judge Nancy Dreher in the bankruptcy court in the District of Minnesota. But that decision (affirmed by District Court Judge Donovan Frank) has been reversed on appeal and Dorsey was also vindicated in a companion case in state co… Continue reading

Home Valu Involuntary Bankruptcy: Fairly Rare Event, but Perhaps on the Rise?

The Star Tribune reports today that Home Valu, founded by former Minnesota U.S. Senator Rudy Boschwitz, has been put into involuntary bankruptcy.  Such proceedings are relatively rare, as pointed out in the article by bankruptcy veteran George Singer of Linquist and Vennum.  The creditors bringing the proceeding are represented by Dave Runck, of Fafinski, Mark & Johnson, P.A. … Continue reading

Facebook Privacy Breach: The Inevitable Class Action Complaint & a Minnesota Tie

…ime will tell whether the story and the privacy breach will open up another cottage industry or whether the contagion will be contained… The named plaintiff in the (first-filed?) suit against Zynga, maker of Farmville : Nancy Graf, of St. Paul, in a suit filed in San Francisco, CA (represented by Edelson McGuire/Nassiri-Jung).  The complaint is here. … Continue reading

Grantor Grantee Index vs. Tract Index Disconnect — CAVEAT EMPTOR or CAVEAT RECORDER? MN Supreme Court Hears Argument, Nov. 10

…ing duties), rather than placing the burden of inspecting the two indexes on the property buyer. The 11/10 Minnesota Supreme Court recorded argument is here. MidCountry Bank, f/k/a First Federal fsb v. Frederick C. Krueger, Nancy Krueger, Cherolyn A. Hinshaw, et al. … Continue reading

What Is the Trigger For Punitive Damages in Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Cases?

…rm or illness? As a first line of defense, pharmaceuticals and device manufacturers seek protection under federal regulation but there are ways for such manufacturers to game that system (by promoting, for example, “off label” uses or, theoretically, by duping federal regulators by other means (i.e., concealing or distorting data as to efficacy or side effects)). So the FDA may afford medical companies some protection, but that protec… Continue reading

Levaquin Trial Begins Monday, November 15 Before U.S. District Court Judge Tunheim (D. Minn.)

…n that would have negatively affected levofloxacin sales in both Europe and the United States.  Over the past decade, there appears to have been increased concern about these medications and the communication of risk on their labels.  The label warnings have been increasingly emphatic.  Plaintiffs’ theories seem to be, in a nutshell, that the drug companies knew of the medicine’s risks and have steadfastly tried to understate or de-em… Continue reading

Alamo® (propiconazole) to “Prevent” Fatal Oak Wilt Infection? Really??

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

Several Hundred Dollars To Treat Your Trees Followed By Dead Trees?

…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