Minnesota

Deceptive practices suits say McCormick put 25% less pepper in its usual tin containers

Where’s the pepper? That’s what consumers could be asking, after purchasing McCormick & Co. tin containers that allegedly contain 25 percent less of the product than they used to. Federal lawsuits filed in several jurisdictions say McCormick violated consumer laws prohibiting deceptive practices by not reducing the size of the…

Sep 16, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

Inspired by teen, lawyer decides to adopt hard-to-place child, finds doing so an uphill battle

Inspired by the story of a Florida teenager who made international headlines by going to church and speaking from the pulpit to ask for a family to adopt him, an in-house attorney for a company outside Minneapolis made an unusual decision. Susan Olson decided that she would open her own…

Sep 14, 2015 11:15 AM CDT

Lawyer convicted in wife-murder said to inspire ‘Fargo’ movie plot dies at home at 88

A Minnesota lawyer convicted of first-degree murder in one of the state’s most notorious crimes died at his home last month. T. Eugene Thompson was 88 years old. He served nearly 20 years for the 1963 slaying of his wife, Carol Thompson, who was fatally beaten and stabbed by a…

Sep 2, 2015 11:40 AM CDT

Right-to-die group fined $30,000 for assisting Minnesota woman’s suicide

A national right-to-die group has been fined $30,000 for assisting in the 2007 suicide of a Minnesota woman. Final Exit Network Inc. was convicted in May of a felony for helping Doreen Dunn commit suicide and interfering with a death scene, the Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune report.…

Aug 25, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

Student suspended for two-word tweet may sue school district and police chief, judge rules

A federal judge in Minneapolis has refused to dismiss a suit by a former high school student that contends his First Amendment rights were violated when his school suspended him for a two-word tweet. U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled that the student, Reid Sagehorn, could sue the Elk River…

Aug 12, 2015 8:06 AM CDT

6th Circuit criticizes lawyer’s ‘outlandish’ comparisons, tosses challenge to lawn mowing fine

A federal appeals court has tossed a homeowner’s suit claiming his due process rights were violated when he was charged $600 by city of Howell, Michigan, for refusing to mow the curb strip in front of his home. The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the suit by…

Aug 4, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Federal judge in Minnesota kicks ‘Deflategate’ case back to NYC counterpart

Competing lawsuits by the National Football League and Tom Brady and the NFL Player’s Association over “Deflategate” penalties will be decided by a federal court in Manhattan. The NFL beat Brady and the player’s union to the courthouse, filing a declaratory judgment action in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday,…

Jul 31, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

US seeks to question Minnesota dentist in shooting of Cecil the lion

Already sought for questioning by authorities in Zimbabwe over the claimed poaching of a popular lion allegedly lured from an African national park to be hunted and slain, a Minnesota dentist is now in hot water in the U.S. as well. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has tried without…

Jul 30, 2015 4:55 PM CDT

Decades-old contract lets historic Dairy Queen apply ‘rogue ice-cream rules’

Typically, those who operate and patronize franchise restaurants are looking for a uniform brand. But among the outliers are Troy and Diane DeLeon, the owners of a longtime Dairy Queen in Moorhead, Minnesota. Still operating under a 1949 contract from their predecessor, Bob Litherland, since they took over in 1995,…

Jul 23, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

Lawyer is suspended for failing to disclose Paris trip that led to missed court dates

A Minnesota lawyer has received an indefinite suspension for implying illness prevented her from attending court hearings when the real reason was a trip to Paris to attend her brother’s wedding. Mpatanishi Syanaloli Tayari-Garrett, identified as M. Tayari Garrett in previous coverage, won’t be able to petition for reinstatement for…

Jul 6, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Man sued for sawing neighbor’s garage in half isn’t liable, judge rules

A Minnesota home buyer who discovered days after the property closing that his garage had been sawed in half has lost a civil suit against the neighbor who did it. Judge Lois Lang of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, ruled against home buyer Mark Besemann on May 29 because half of his…

Jun 4, 2015 8:08 AM CDT

$200K sanction could close my law firm, lawyer tells court

A Minneapolis lawyer is facing a double hit in a civil suit accusing his client of defrauding auto buyers in the former Soviet Union. Minneapolis lawyer Boris Parker says the client, Sergey Kapustin, owes him $125,000 in unpaid fees. Now Parker is fighting a potential $200,000 sanction for negotiating a…

May 26, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Final Exit Network is convicted for assisting suicide

A right-to-die group faces a fine of up to $33,000 after its conviction on Thursday for assisting the 2007 suicide of a Minnesota woman. Jurors in Dakota County, Minnesota, convicted the Final Exit Network in the death of Doreen Dunn, 57, who had been living in pain since reacting to…

May 15, 2015 7:20 AM CDT

As same-sex marriage gains ground, some employers cut benefits for same-sex couples who don’t wed

Same-sex marriage has become legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia in recent years, and could soon be more widely recognized, depending on how the U.S. Supreme Court rules in pending cases. However, now that same-sex marriage is possible in a majority of states, a number of employers…

May 13, 2015 11:50 AM CDT

Insurers seek $47M from 2 men convicted in airline billing-fraud scheme

Two men stole tens of millions of dollars from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines over a 20-year period through a relatively simple billing fraud, authorities say. Now two insurance companies that covered the loss to the airline companies, less a $1 million deductible, are suing the imprisoned pair in…

May 12, 2015 12:05 PM CDT