The POWER 30: Steven J. Wells

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Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Plaintiff’s attorney Steven Wells calls Warren v. ACOVA a “substantial case in terms of dollars and complexity.” It is about the pharmaceutical company Upsher-Smith, owned by the Evenstad family — parents and two adult children, including the plaintiff. The company was founded by Ken Evenstad, who died in 2020.

The company was sold in 2016 for $1 billion. After distributions to family members, the proceeds were placed in a holding company called ACOVA. A dispute arose.

The results of a four-week Zoom trial before Hennepin County District Court Judge Edward Wahl came in a 354-page order. The plaintiff sought a buyout of her share in ACOVA as well as damages for bad faith and breach of fiduciary duty. Her award of up to $54 million was less than the $228 million the plaintiff sought, but still may be the largest shareholder award of its kind in the state, Wells said. The plaintiff seeks to correct the award, which she argues includes some mistakes.

Wells has had other significant litigation this past year, including at the Seventh Circuit, the Ninth and the Colorado Court of Appeals. He and Dorsey & Whitney lawyers Nicholas Bullard and Jessica Leano wrote an amicus brief for University of Notre Dame Professor James Kelly Jr. in the case of Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, that was expressly cited at argument by Justice Samuel Alito.

Wells also represents Andre Thomas who is on death row in Texas. The mentally ill inmate has plucked out both of his eyes because God told him to, Wells said. His execution date has been delayed to allow the proceedings. Wells said that a Texas state court found Thomas incompetent to be executed.

Wells’ approach to litigation is that facts matter, he told Minnesota Lawyer. But we live in a time where evidence-based decision making has been “trashed” by public events, he said. That raises challenges during voir dire. He tries to explore jurors’ predilections in that area by “coming at it sideways,” he said.

“I ask them what they read, [trying to find out] if all they read is one thing and if the forum doesn’t respect alternative views,” he said.