Minnesota

Federal Court Service Animal Ruling Sought: Can a Companion Cat Fill the Paws of a Companion Dog?

Diane Orenstein has been approved for Social Security disability benefits, and her doctor, psychologist and social worker say the 55-year-old brain-damaged woman would benefit from having a trained companion dog as a service animal. But the board in charge of the Minneapolis condominium association in which she has been a…

Sep 14, 2012 8:27 PM CDT

8th Circuit OKs $222K Award But Avoids Ruling on Key Issue in Historic RIAA File-Sharing Case

After three jury trials, it appears that the legal saga of the first individual to fight a Recording Industry Association of America demand for payment for illegal downloading of copyrighted music still hasn’t come to an end. In a procedurally complex decision Tuesday, a federal appeals court panel held that…

Sep 11, 2012 8:52 PM CDT

Welcomed At Some Workplaces, Dogs Prompt Canine-Oriented Lease Provision and Office Policy

A growing Minnesota-based Web development company has a lot of experience with arranging to lease new office space. And there’s at least one provision that isn’t negotiable, the Nerdery’s co-president tells the Star-Tribune. “We’ve moved or expanded our office space eight times in as many years, and an open-door dog…

Sep 10, 2012 10:47 PM CDT

Gay Marriage Infringes Freedom of Its Opponents, Law Prof Argues in Op-Ed

When the law expands one person’s freedom, it restricts that of another. That principle applies in the context of gay marriage, according to University of St. Thomas law professor Robert Delahunty. In a commentary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Delahunty disagrees with the reasoning of a colleague who opposes a…

Sep 6, 2012 11:00 AM CDT

Discipline Sought for Lawyer Who Filed Pleadings Calling a Judge ‘Black-Robed Bigot’

Lawyer discipline authorities in Minnesota are seeking discipline of an attorney for reportedly filing suits in bad faith and harassing judges and litigants with religious slurs. One pleading referred to a federal judge as a “black-robed bigot.” In a petition for disciplinary action against Rebekah Nett, the Office of Lawyers…

Aug 17, 2012 10:39 AM CDT

Minnesota’s Oldest Law Firm Closes Its Doors; Chief Justice Warren Burger Was Once a Partner

Updated: A law firm older than the state of Minnesota closed its doors Monday. Moore Costello & Hart was founded in 1855, three years before the territory became a state, reports the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. The firm declined to divulge the reasons for its dissolution to the Business Journal.…

Aug 15, 2012 9:36 PM CDT

Customers Targeted by Workers at Big-Name Banks in Multimillion Dollar ID Theft Schemes

Employees of some of the nation’s biggest banks have reportedly been stealing customers’ identities in multimillion dollar fraud schemes. A federal judge in Minneapolis on Monday sentenced two claimed leaders of a $50 million bank fraud conspiracy to well over 20 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. Julian Okeayaninneh…

Aug 15, 2012 7:02 PM CDT

3M Co. Sues Covington for ‘Betrayal,’ Says Firm Switched Sides to Work for Minn. AG on Enviro Suit

Facing a big-bucks environmental lawsuit by the Minnesota attorney general, 3M Company is firing back with a federal court complaint against its longtime former counsel. Covington & Burling has betrayed the company by suddenly ending its representation and switching sides in 2010 to help the AG sue 3M, the tech…

Aug 2, 2012 10:34 AM CDT

In-Hospital Debt Collector Agrees to $2.5M Payment, 2-Year Ban in Pact with Minn. AG

Without admitting any wrongdoing, Accretive Health Inc. has agreed in a settlement with the Minnesota attorney general to pay $2.5 million and stop doing business in the state for two years, reports the Chicago Tribune. As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, an investigation by the AG had suggested that…

Jul 30, 2012 10:33 PM CDT

Top Minn. Court Says Public Defender Erred By ‘Advocating’ Forfeiture of Client’s Right to Counsel

Clearly, Jeffrey Arthur Krause did not get along with his appointed assistant Minnesota public defender. In an affidavit, the lawyer said he was fearful for his safety, after Krause made threatening comments to him. Krause denied that in a letter, but it wasn’t allowed into evidence during a hearing on…

Jul 25, 2012 6:06 PM CDT

Minn. Appeals Court OKs Conviction of ‘Morbid, Predatory’ Ex-Nurse Who Pushed Suicide in Web Chats

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld the felony conviction of a former nurse who was found guilty of violating a state law against assisting suicide by—while posing as a young woman who also was suicidal—urging individuals in Canada and England, in Internet chats, to do away with themselves. The…

Jul 17, 2012 8:08 PM CDT

Suspended Defense Lawyer Gets 60 Days More for Ghostwriting Client’s Winning ‘Pro Se’ Appeal Brief

Suspended from practice for 60 days on April 16, 2009 for unrelated conduct, a Minnesota criminal defense attorney scrambled to find alternative counsel for approximately 30 clients. But Stephen Vincent Grigsby couldn’t find another lawyer to write an appellate brief the next month for J.R., a client convicted, after a…

Jul 11, 2012 5:39 PM CDT

Law Firm to Pay $13.5M Fees Clawback to Convicted Client’s Bankruptcy Estate

A well-known Minnesota law firm has agreed to pay a $13.5 million legal fees clawback to the bankruptcy estate of a longtime client convicted of operating a $3.65 billion Ponzi scheme. Bankruptcy trustee Doug Kelley acknowledged there was no evidence that Fredrikson & Byron knew anything was wrong concerning former…

May 31, 2012 6:01 PM CDT

Ethics Panel Accuses Lawyer of Telling Opposing Counsel He Hopes She Will ‘Sleep with the Fishes’

A Minneapolis lawyer who told opposing counsel he hopes she will “sleep with the fishes” should be suspended from practice, according to Minnesota lawyer discipline authorities. A disciplinary complaint (PDF) accuses lawyer Peter Nickitas of “harassing and bullying” the opposing lawyer, Michelle Hurley, report the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the…

May 14, 2012 1:42 PM CDT

Mom Is Accused of Malicious Punishment for Daughter’s Humiliating ‘Diaper Duty’

A Minnesota mother and her boyfriend were arrested on Monday after the woman shaved her 12-year-old daughter’s head and sent her outside in a diaper and tank top, police say. The Fridley, Minn., couple were arrested on suspicion of gross-misdemeanor malicious punishment of a child, report the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

May 9, 2012 1:05 PM CDT