|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: February 10, 2012
Dayton vetoes tort reform
Four state tort reform bills fell to the veto pen. “It is hard for me to believe that this rush it to pass it strategy had any expectation of creating law. Instead, it appears to be just another political ploy by the Republican majorities as they provide their special interest friends, the [...]
|
|
|
BY: Adam Johnson
POSTED: February 9, 2012
Tort reform passes in the Senate
The Minnesota Senate yesterday approved a package of bills that would overhaul the civil justice system. Supporters say the bills will make Minnesota more business friendly and cut down on frivolous lawsuits, but trial lawyers argue the package is a money grab by the insurance companies. A similar package passed [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: February 7, 2012
Claims up and so are retentions
The Wall Street Journal law blog reports that malpractice claims are up, which is typical in a bad economy, and the purchase of insurance by lawyers hence is also up. However, retentions are also up, leaving law firms exposed. In a somewhat incredulous tone, it says that clients are using [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: February 3, 2012
SCOTUS likes its chops Well done
In another victory for federal preemption, Dorsey attorney Steven Wells has won a unanimous victory from the USSC in National Meat Association v. Harris. The case overturned the 9th Circuit in ruling that federal law preempted state law on slaughterhouse regulation. SCOTUS blog writes that the unanimous victory is not [...]
|
|
|
BY: Patrick Thornton
POSTED: February 2, 2012
Occupy This
Hennepin County agreed to pay an Occupy Minnesota protestor $15,000 as part of a settlement. The woman was cited for trespassing at the Hennepin County Government Center in October for writing in chalk on the grounds. Later she was arrested by sheriff’s deputies while standing on the sidewalk and barred from the property for [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: January 31, 2012
Maslon case headed to the appellate court
A malpractice case against the Maslon firm is headed for the 8th Circuit, Minnesota Litigator reports. Many of the claims were earlier dismissed by Judge Susan Nelson when she ruled that Minnesota “expert disclosure statute” was applicable in this case before her. The case was originally filed in Nevada [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: January 27, 2012
Legal Aid Layoffs
Last November the Congress slashed legal services funding by 14 percent, or about $56 million. Funding is now at its lowest level since 2007. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports that a Legal Services Corporation survey shows that organizations expect to lay off 393 employees in 2012, including 163 attorneys. That makes [...]
|
|
|
BY: Patrick Thornton
POSTED: January 26, 2012
Wahl movie coming to big screen
A $76,000 grant to the Washington County Historical Society will help two filmmakers finish a documentary about Rosalie Wahl, a Lake Elmo resident and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice.
The film is called “She Who Would Giants Fight.”The grants are funded by sales taxes generated by the Clean Water, Land and [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: January 24, 2012
Racial bias in consumer bankruptcy
Blacks are more likely than whites to get shuttled into a Chapter 13 bankruptcy rather than a Chapter 7, which provides a rapid discharge, the New York Times reports. Law professors conducted a study of racial differences in bankruptcy filings. “A survey conducted as part of their research found that bankruptcy [...]
|
|
|
BY: Barbara L. Jones
POSTED: January 20, 2012
More prison time for sex offenders?
Paul Demko at Politics in Minnesota writes that support is growing for indeterminate sentences for sex offenders as a means of curtailing civil commitments. The sentencing change would allow the offenders to be held in prison rather than at a psychiatric facility, which would save money – it costs three [...]
|
|
