MinnLawyer Blog

Can an insurance company be held liable for negligently hiring an agent who allegedly used her position to bilk a vulnerable adult out of $104,000? No, the Court of Appeals answered today in Johnson v. Peterson, et al. (The appellate court upheld dismissals of claims for negligent hiring, training, retention and supervision.) The agent allegedly [...]

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Call it the “take this job and shove it” defense. In March 2006, when a worker at Brooklyn Center Motors was told by his lot supervisor that the sales supervisor wanted him to pick up litter around the lot, he responded with a very specific (and anatomically challenging) request of his own. The worker, Douglas [...]

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The Court of Appeals recently added another chapter to the continuing saga of race-based differentials in the law. In this case, the court called it the line drawn a political differential and, as Robert Frost might have said, “that has made all the difference.” Greene v. Commissioner of the Department of Human Services involves a [...]

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The Minnesota Legislature passed its budget bills before adjourning but they still could be vetoed by the governor. If the courts have to intervene in order to keep the state operating, the purview of their power isn’t clear under State ex rel. Sviggum v. Hanson, issued by the Court of Appeals today. At least that’s [...]

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Court of Appeals Judge R.A. “Jim” Randall vented his frustration with the Minneapolis Police Department in a 16-page dissent in a case released earlier this week, State v. Thoreson. The defendant had been convicted of misdemeanor prostitution after a Hennepin County District Court judge refused to dismiss the case on the ground that police misconduct [...]

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