Minnesota Lawyer articles from June 2003

Minnesota Lawyer archives from June 2003

Ramsey County Bar Assn. elects new officers and leaders.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Ramsey County Bar Association has announced its new leadership for 2003-04, effective July 1. The announcement was made at the RCBA's annual meeting on May 15. John Guthman, of Hansen,...

Ramsey County Bar Assn. president elected MN State Bar Assn. secretary.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The president of the Ramsey County Bar Association (RCBA), St. Paul attorney Patrick J. Kelly, has been elected Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) secretary. The position is the beginning of a...

Hennepin County Bar Assn. presents Advancement of Justice Award.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA) has announced Lori S. Holmes, training coordinator for CornerHouse, as the 2003 recipient of the Advancement of Justice Award. The award was presented at the...

Commentary: Data disclosure decisions demonstrate difficulties.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act was enacted nearly 30 years ago as a modest effort to balance the public's right to know about government activities with individual privacy concerns in the wake of the...

Commentary: A closer look at the Legislature's final judiciary funding deal.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Most legislative observers agree that the cuts to court funding this session are significant. But many say they could have been worse. The Judiciary Finance Budget Bill (Chapter 2) passed the Minnesota...

Supreme Court seeks new members for its advisory committee on rules of civil procedure.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Supreme Court seeks lawyers to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure. Those lawyers interested in becoming a member of the committee should send a letter of interest and...

Tortfeasor's insurer gets an offset for settlement.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen A tenant's insurer is entitled to an offset for amounts that the tenant paid directly to its landlord to settle a tortious-waste claim. The tenant - a homeless shelter - paid the property owner $340,000 for damage...

How to avoid the 10 most common courtroom pitfalls.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore At a recent continuing legal education (CLE) program, former Ramsey County District Court Judge John M. Sands instructed practitioners on how to avoid some of the common pitfalls that occur in the courtroom. The...

Encouraging mediation in difficult budgetary times.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Across the state, mediation helps relieve the courts' caseloads and offer disputants in conciliation, housing and other courts a chance to resolve their differences, but is vulnerable to budget crises faced by local...

Changes to the professional conduct rules in the works.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility The Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) Task Force on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct is winding up its review of the recently amended American Bar Association (ABA) Model...

Chief judges ban firearms in Minnesota courtrooms.
June 2, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Conference of Chief Judges (MCCJ) has decided that the chief judge of each of the state's 10 Judicial Districts shall issue an order "prohibiting possession of firearms within...

Briefs: Rochester law firm has new associate+.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Rochester law firm of Bagniefski & Murakami, P.L.L.P. has announced that James M. Hansen has joined the firm as an associate attorney. Hansen plans to engage in the general practice of law. He...

Commentary: Claimants fail to prove duty doctrine.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Claimants seeking damages for torts committed against them face a number of obstacles. Establishing liability as well as proving damages can be high hurdles to overcome. The pursuit of damages often becomes a...

Jurisdiction existed over Tennessee insurer.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Where Minnesota residents were injured in Minnesota in a motor vehicle owned by Tennessee residents and insured in Tennessee, the Minnesota courts properly exercised personal jurisdiction over the Tennessee insurer in...

Opinion barring secret recording of conversations is repealed.(Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board repealed Opinion No. 18)
June 3, 2003... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility At its April 18, 2002, meeting, the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board repealed Opinion No. 18, which made it unethical for lawyers to secretly record conversations with others....

Interview with Hennepin County Dist. Court judge.( Judge Katherian Roe )(Interview)
June 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore As Gov. Jesse Ventura declared when he announced her appointment to the Hennepin County District Court bench late last year, Judge Katherian Roe has worked very hard to get to where she is today. Although a member...

Finalists announced for Hennepin County bench.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced five finalists for three 4th Judicial District trial court bench vacancies in Hennepin County. The openings occurred with the retirement of Judges...

Five finalists selected for two Supreme Court seats.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The special committee appointed by Gov. Jesse Ventura to screen applications for the two upcoming vacancies on the Minnesota Supreme Court last week released its list of five finalists. The...

Court rules on environmental response time limit.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore The statute of limitations for a cost-recovery response action brought by the state under the Minnesota Environmental Response and Liability Act (MERLA) as enacted in 1983 accrued at the time of on-site construction...

Buying and selling a law practice in Minnesota.
June 3, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Are you planning on retiring from the practice of law? Have you recently been appointed to the bench? Are you planning on relocating or changing your profession altogether? Up until a few years ago, solo or...

MN Legal Briefs June 9, 2003.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Olup & Associates, an Edina Matrimonial Law Firm, has announced that Erin E. Lindhart has joined the firm as an associate. Lindhart is a 2000 graduate of the University of Iowa College of Law and has...

Ramsey County Bar Association's golf tourney raises $8,000 for charity.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Nearly 110 lawyers and judges participated in the Ramsey County Bar Association's annual Fundraiser Golf Tournament last week. The event raised approximately $8,000 for the Ramsey County Bar...

Admission of doctor's report error, but harmless.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Even though it was error to admit letters from a child therapist in a termination of parental rights proceeding due to lack of foundation, the error was harmless because there was substantial evidence to support...

Minneapolis lawyer marks 64 years of service.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore He may be nearing 91 years old, but Lindquist and Vennum founder Leonard E. Lindquist still isn't ready to leave the firm in which he has invested so much of his life. The devoted Minneapolis attorney still...

Commentary: Court rules on three cases involving drug dogs.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick Despite sophisticated technology available to them, law enforcement personnel often rely upon low-tech devices in pursuing and apprehending criminals. One of their chief tools is a dog. Lionized as our best...

Law firm is disqualified from defense of school district.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Despite erecting an "ethical wall," a law firm cannot defend a school district in a sex-harassment case where a lawyer working for the firm had previously worked at the firm representing the plaintiff and had taken a...

Bench barbecues burgers at Dorothy Day Center.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota appellate court judges, law clerks and staff served lunch to nearly 350 people in need at Catholic Charities' Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul on Friday, May 30. Staff and an informal steering...

Supreme Court dispositions increase in 2002, report says.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The number of cases disposed of by the Minnesota Supreme Court in 2002 increased 4 percent from the prior year, according to a recently released report. The Minnesota State Courts Annual Report...

Minnesota Advocates celebrates 20th anniversary.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights held its 20th anniversary celebration and awards dinner last week. The recipients of 2003 Human Rights Awards were Prof. David Weissbrodt, a founder of the...

Verdicts and settlements are on the rise in wrongful death cases.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Two notably large results for plaintiffs in Minnesota wrongful death cases this year illustrate the widely held belief that verdicts and settlements in those tragic cases are on the increase. Members of the...

Oral notice of alteration in roofing work was sufficient.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones A standard American Institute of Architects (AIA) construction contract does not require written notice of the discovery of a concealed or unknown condition, the Court of Appeals has held. The case involved a...

Courts quickly deal with safety issues from conceal-carry law.
June 9, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones As soon as the conceal-carry law was enacted last month, state court judges began moving to address the courthouse security concerns created by the broad language of the new statute. The law, which went into...

Public safety, criminal law changes in 2003 session.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Ember Reichgott Junge Minnesota legislators on the crime and public safety committees were active during the 2003 legislative session not only on budget matters, but in passing new policy changes. New crimes were created, criminal...

Criminal conviction not preclusive on coverage issue.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Supreme Court last week ruled that a daycare provider's criminal conviction for shaking a child in her care did not collaterally estop the victim from litigating the issue of whether...

Public defender co-payment is constitutional, court finds.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The state statute requiring criminal defendants to pay a $28 co-payment does not infringe on the right to counsel or the right to equal protection, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The appellate decision upholding...

Innocence Project founder to speak at continuing legal ed program.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Barry Scheck, one of the founders of the Innocence Project, was the featured speaker at a recent continuing legal education (CLE) program held at Thomson-West's facility in Eagan. Thomson-West...

Judge Harriet Lansing honored at MN Women Lawyers' annual meeting.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Women Lawyer's (MWL) Myra Bradwell Award for 2003 was presented to Hon. Harriet Lansing last week at the group's annual meeting on June 9. Lansing has served on the Court of Appeals since...

Commentary: Lessons from the fall of Arthur Andersen.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Neil Hamilton Just a year ago, the Minnesota Supreme Court was considering the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) petition favoring a rule change to permit multidisciplinary practice (MDP). The ABA defines MDP as "a...

ABA president-elect Dennis Archer on breaking down barriers.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Dennis W. Archer, president-elect of the American Bar Association (ABA), will deliver a keynote address at the Minnesota State Bar Association's annual convention on Thursday, June 19. Archer, the chair of Dickinson...

Incoming MSBA president James Baillie on state bar priorities.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Incoming Minnesota State Bar (MSBA) President James Baillie is well known throughout the legal community for his commitment to the profession through his participation in bar activities. The longtime Fredrikson &...

Rules committee looking for a few good attorneys.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure is looking for a few good attorneys. The member committee is currently looking to recruit 10 new members as it prepares to explore a variety of...

Settlement in workers' comp case is vacated.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen An injured employee who settled his workers' compensation claim for partial disability for a lump sum payment of $112,000 and then was told after further medical review that he had, in fact, become totally and...

MN Legal Briefs June 23, 2003.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Duana J. Grage and Jodi L. Johnson have been elected to partnership at Hinshaw & Culbertson. Grage devotes her practice to the defense of professionals, insurance coverage and general litigation...

Law school placement rates dip for 2002 grads.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Law school graduates in 2002 were launched into a tough economy, and statistics from Minnesota's law schools prove it. Placement statistics from three of the state's law schools indicate that between 89 and 96...

Court rules on parenting time, annuity issues.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones In two published family law decisions last week, the Court of Appeals examined the issues of when motions to modify parenting time may be brought and whether a disability annuity is subject to equitable distribution....

Award for front pay damages can be multiplied under MN Human Rights Act.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones The Court of Appeals last week upheld an award of front-pay damages made pursuant to the Minnesota Human Rights Act (MHRA) to a plaintiff in a sex-discrimination case. The appellate court determined that it was...

ABA president delivers keynote at MSBA convention.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter American Bar Association (ABA) President Dennis Archer last week delivered the keynote address at the Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) annual convention. The event, which was held at the...

Commentary: Justice delayed is sometimes justice denied.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The judicial system moves slowly, prompting the well-known saying: "Justice delayed is justice denied." But for those who tarry too long, their delay can be fatal to their positions in both civil and criminal...

Rental car not covered by employer's policy.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore An employee who was injured while driving a car rented for him by his employer was not an insured for purposes of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under the employer's commercial automobile insurance policy,...

Insurance cancellation notice time insufficient, court rules.
June 23, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones An insurance cancellation notice was insufficient because an insured did not receive the full statutorily required 10-day warning, the Minnesota Supreme Court has found. The court concluded that the proper remedy...

Commentary: State bar convention is a chance for MN lawyers to come together.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Mark Cohen The Minnesota State Bar Association's (MSBA) annual convention was held last week in downtown Minneapolis. At the three-day event, lawyers, judges and other members of the legal community had the opportunity to come...

Local law schools welcome affirmative action ruling.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones Administrators at Minnesota's four law schools embraced the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week that race may be considered when admitting students. In a much-anticipated 5-4 decision, Grutter v. Bollinger, the...

Top legal brass challenged to increase pro bono at firms.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Barbara Jones About 60 top leaders of Minnesota law firms and in-house legal departments recently gathered to be challenged to increase the amount of pro bono participation of the lawyers at their organizations. The pro bono...

MSBA approves a number of changes to ethics rules.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore At its recent convention, the Minnesota State Bar Association (MSBA) approved several proposed changes to the state's lawyer disciplinary rules. The amendments, which had been suggested by the MSBA Task Force on...

'Younger doctrine' raises age-old federalism issues.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Marshall Tanick The balance of power between the federal government and the states is a subject of ongoing concern. The issue of federalism is a recurring topic in litigation against states and state agencies in federal courts...

Judge issues order regarding attorney fees in default cases.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter On June 2, 2002, Hennepin County Chief Judge Kevin Burke issued a standing order regarding attorney fees approval in default cases in Hennepin County. Effective Aug. 1, 2003, the following...

Consideration needed to enforce commission clause.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore Where a provision relating to payment of commissions was central to an employment contract that also contained a noncompete clause, independent consideration was required to enforce the commissions clause, the Court...

High court clarifies criteria for privacy tort.
June 30, 2003... Byline: Michelle Lore A trucking company's dissemination by facsimile of the Social Security numbers of 204 employees to 16 terminal managers did not constitute publication within the meaning of the invasion of privacy tort of publication...