Minnesota Lawyer articles from July 2003

Minnesota Lawyer archives from July 2003

Rochester law firms announce staff changes for July 7, 2003.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Jardine, Logan & O'Brien, PLLP has announced that Marlene S. Garvis and Thomas L. Cummings have become partners of the firm, effective July 1, 2003. Fredrikson & Byron have announced that Sue Ann...

Commentary: Some ways for attorneys to have a better year.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Bemidji lawyer Robert A. Woodke, who is also a law office management instructor, recently shared some tips about practicing law and staying happy at a seminar called "Ideas for Your Best Year Ever." The...

MN Supreme Court denies appeal of plea withdrawal denial.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter In a 4-3 decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court declined to overturn a trial court judge's decision not to allow a defendant who pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder to withdraw those...

Commentary: Dealing with prospective clients.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Your partner met with a man two years ago about a possible marital dissolution and custody matter. The lawyer determined that your firm did not have a conflict, then gathered complete...

NY Court of Appeals rules seizure valid despite errors in trial court findings.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Even though the District Court failed to make findings on the legality of a stop and addressed issues that were not before it in an implied consent proceeding, there was ample evidence in the record to support the...

Minnesota white-collar criminals share their stories at Univ. of St. Thomas program.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen The University of St. Thomas did not originally plan to hold its June 30 program on white-collar crime and professional responsibility in a church, but the venue could not have been more appropriate. During the...

MN Supreme Court rules corporation liable as successor employer.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A bar server who obtained sexual-harassment judgments against her employer in a case brought in state court under Title VII may collect the judgments from a company that subsequently took over the assets and...

Debate over restoring capital punishment to MN should not overlook state's legal history.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick During one of his campaigns for the presidency, the late comedian Pat Paulson explained why he was against capital punishment. "Washington D.C. has already been punished enough," he said. But setting aside the...

Amendment limiting judicial discretion in sentencing receives cool reception from judges.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A federal law limiting judicial discretion in sentencing that went into effect late last month has received a less-than-enthusiastic reception from some judges and lawyers. The new law, referred to as the Feeney...

Judge erred in dismissing case sua sponte.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A Mower County District Court judge erred in entering a sua sponte order for summary judgment against a plaintiff in a case against his insurer without giving the plaintiff a "meaningful opportunity" to acquire...

Wide-ranging civil law changes, part II.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge The 2003 Minnesota Legislature made changes to a wide array of civil laws, though few attracted media attention. This summary focuses on key changes in commercial, health and insurance laws as well as family,...

RCBA to hold 10th annual Families First Picnic.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter In conjunction with staff from St. Paul Public Schools, volunteer attorneys from the Ramsey County Bar Association (RCBA) have organized the 10th annual Families First Picnic for more than 300...

How lawyers can get the most out of the mediation process.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Mediation can be a very effective dispute resolution tool if the parties are adequately prepared and it takes place at the appropriate time, according to panelists at a recent continuing legal education seminar (CLE)....

Web site seeks to facilitate child custody communication.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A Web site developed by a Minnesota divorce lawyer, ourfamilywizard.com, is getting visitors from throughout the country as parents, lawyers, and judges find it helps solve many of the communication problems that...

Peremptory challenge should have been granted.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The defense's peremptory challenge of a black juror in an assault case involving a white defendant and a Hispanic victim was valid and should have been allowed where the proffered reason for the challenge was the...

U.S. District Court proposes amendments to local practice rules.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota has announced the approval, subject to public comment, of amendments to its local rules of practice. The changes were recommended by the court's...

Commentary: Investor complaint statistics reveal interesting trends.
July 14, 2003... Byline: James Eccleston Recently the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) Dispute Resolution released statistics on securities arbitration claims by brokerage firm customers to recover their investment losses. The statistics,...

Excluding coverage for sex abuse a jury question.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen A jury should decide whether the actions of an insured who sexually abused his niece were "unintentional" due to his mental illness, the Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled. The insurer argued that the trial court...

Commentary: Disturbed dissents demonstrate doctrinal difficulties.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Appellate courts habitually are collegial bodies. Only rarely do internal disputes flare up, like the historic disdain displayed by a clique of old school U.S. Supreme Court justices towards fellow jurist Benjamin...

MN Legal Briefs July 21, 2003.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Borkon Ramstead Mariani Fishman & Carp, Ltd. is pleased to announce that Robert K. Randall has joined their firm and will be practicing in the areas of plaintiffs' personal injury, medical...

State budget cuts cause loss of funding for Legal Assistance to Minnesota Prisoners program.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore For more than three decades, students at Minnesota's law schools have had the unique opportunity to gain practical legal experience while assisting a segment of society that goes largely unrepresented in its civil...

Dakota County parents to pay for custody evaluations.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Parents in Dakota County must now pick up the tab for custody evaluations. Until recently, the state was paying the costs for custody evaluations in the county. But with the fiscal...

MN Court of Appeals rules foundry worker can't sue silica sand supplier for silicosis.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A company that supplied silica sand to a foundry had no duty to warn the foundry's employees of the health danger that inhalation of silica particles presented, the Court of Appeals has ruled in a case of first...

Minneapolis-based LawMoose Web site to unveil 'Lawyer Selector' feature.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Clients looking for a lawyer who is proficient in a foreign language will shortly be able to find such a lawyer more easily using a popular local legal information search engine. LawMoose -- the...

MN Court of Appeals rules contractor's agents had no fiduciary duty to subcontractor.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The president and a sales representative of a contracting company were not jointly and severally liable for failing to pay a subcontractor for work done to real property, nor did they have a fiduciary duty to the...

MN Supreme Court overturns $535K distress verdict against employee.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen The Minnesota Supreme Court has overturned a $535,000 emotional distress award made by a jury to a radio station owner/operator who alleged that he suffered severe emotional harm as a result of a former employee's...

New Hamline law dean takes an artful approach to law.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Jon M. Garon, the new dean of Hamline University School of Law, has found a way to combine his love of the arts with a legal career and in the process of doing that found another love in legal academia. One might say...

MN Legal Briefs July 28, 2003.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Moss & Barnett has announced that Thomas J. Shroyer, president and CEO, has been elected co-chair of the development committee for the Courage Center Foundation. As co-chair of the committee, Shroyer...

Commentary: Court cases consider employers' investigative duties.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick It is a well-established legal doctrine that employers have a duty to take timely and appropriate action in response to a complaint of harassment or discrimination in the workplace. See e.g. Faragher v. City of...

New rule will shorten juvenile pretrial detention.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Juveniles accused of criminal behavior will get a speedier first appearance in court in many counties under new rules of delinquency procedure scheduled to take effect Sept. 1. The rules will no longer exclude the day...

General liability insurer is not liable for damage to windows.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore General commercial liability policies issued to a maker of window sash components precluded coverage of an $8.2 million settlement of a claim brought by a commercial customer whose windows were damaged by defective...

Intentional infliction of emotional distress claims in MN - alive, but not so well.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Does a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) really exist in Minnesota anymore? Some practitioners say "no" especially in the employment context. To support their argument, they point to a...

Ruling on antitrust standing is reversed.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen Even though a company that started a snowmobile racing circuit assigned all of its racing circuit assets to another company, it still had standing to bring an antitrust suit against snowmobile manufacturers that left its...

Judge Dehn receives improvement of justice award.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Judge James E. Dehn of Isanti County is the recipient of a $10,000 Paul H. Chapman Award from the Foundation for Improvement of Justice for his work in alternative sentencing programs in DWI cases....

MN Supreme Court justice speaks at 8th Circuit judicial conference.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Page spoke recently at the 2003 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judicial Conference, which was held July 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown...

Nonowned vehicle provision doesn't apply.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A provision in a liability policy issued to a company that leases employees to trucking companies that afforded coverage for incidents involving nonowned vehicles used for business did not apply to an accident...