Minnesota Lawyer articles from September 2004

Minnesota Lawyer archives from September 2004

MN Court of Appeals allows testimony on battered-woman syndrome.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore A District Court judge properly allowed an expert on battered-woman syndrome to testify at the assault trial of the defendant even though neither the state nor the defense directly attacked the alleged victim's...

Minn. Lawyer unveils Web site for 2004 judicial races.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Minnesota Lawyer is pleased to announce the unveiling of a Judicial Election Web site covering the 2004 races. The site contains a wealth of information about the candidates running for judicial...

Labor and management lawyers divided in their views on workplace legal issues.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones In this election year with economic issues competing only with the Iraq war for public attention, labor and management lawyers are as divided as red and blue states in their views on workplace legal issues. ...

New rules in Minnesota affect conditional bar admissions, in-house counsel.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Would-be lawyers with a less-than-perfect past have a better chance to be admitted to practice law in Minnesota under a new Supreme Court rule that took effect last week. As of Sept. 1, under revisions to the...

Attractive Nuisance Tour to benefit low-income persons in Minnesota.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Attractive Nuisance Tour, a concert fundraising event to benefit low-income persons, is back for a second year and will be held on Sept. 17 at O'Gara's in St. Paul. The concert, sponsored in...

8th Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses challenge to part of MN Fair Campaign Practices Act.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter A case challenging a portion of the Minnesota Fair Campaign Practices Act brought by the Republican Party of Minnesota, Third Congressional District, against Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar...

Indianapolis-based Guidant wins new trial in St. Jude Medical suit.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Guidant Corp. has won the right to a new trial in its lawsuit seeking up to $140 million in damages from St. Jude Medical Inc., the company said. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit...

Interview with Minnesota's newest Supreme Court justice, G. Barry Anderson.(Interview)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones When he appointed Court of Appeals Judge G. Barry Anderson to the Supreme Court last month, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said, "Judge Anderson... is a collegial, thoughtful and fair judge who is passionate about achieving...

Commentary: Settle issues, not complaints.(ethics complaint)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Roughly half of all complaints that the Director's Office receives alleging attorney misconduct come from attorneys' clients or former clients. It is not unusual for such a complaint to...

Commentary: Recent rulings work out badly for labor unions.(labor cases)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Labor Day is usually a time for working men and women to celebrate. Today's commemoration of the 110th anniversary of Labor Day occurs a bit later than usual this year. The lateness of the holiday is...

MN Legal Briefs: September 6, 2004.(Bonnabeau, Salyers, Stites and Doe)(Minnesota Defense Lawyers Association)(Brief Article)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Bonnabeau, Salyers, Stites and Doe welcomes Katheryn A. Andresen as their new partner. Andresen joins the firm's information technology law practice. She is a 1996 graduate of the University of...

MN governor appoints three to District and Supreme Courts.(Brief Article)
September 6, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Roseville attorney Elena L. Ostby and St. Cloud attorney Mary Yunker were named District Court judges by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Friday, Aug. 27 at an announcement at the state Capitol. The governor...

General partner lacked standing to seek declaratory judgment.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore A general partner in a limited partnership did not have standing under the partnership agreement nor the Uniform Limited Partnership Act to seek a declaratory judgment in District Court that the partnership was...

City, police immune for injury during simulation.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones A city and its police department are immune from suit based on injuries allegedly caused by a police officer participating in a training exercise, the Court of Appeals has ruled. A volunteer participant in the...

8th Circuit revives sex-bias case over pension.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones Four women who were terminated from their employment in the 1960s for marrying or becoming pregnant and then rejoined the company in the 1980s can sue their employer for lost pension benefits, the 8th U.S. Circuit...

Gregg Johnson enjoys the challenge of serving as Ramsey County chief judge.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore Gregg Johnson took the reins as Ramsey County District Court's chief judge on July 1. Johnson likes challenges, and, as chief, he faces plenty of them. The Ramsey County District Court has a number of key construction...

Oppenheimer law firm sued by four former associates.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Four lawyers laid off in 2003 when Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly closed its satellite office in Palo Alto, Calif., brought suit against the firm in a California court last month. The plaintiffs,...

Commentary: Nothing funny about Supreme Court appointment.(Letter to the Editor)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Letter to the Editor To the editor: Apparently the governor, the chief justice, some journalists, and others find it a matter of amusement that three of the seven justices on our Supreme Court now carry the same Nordic surname....

MN Legal Briefs September 13, 2004.(Minnesota)(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Messerli & Kramer has announced that Bradley H. Lehrman has joined the firm's corporate securities and entrepreneurial venture group. Lehrman is the founder and president of Portage Capital, Inc., a...

Finalists named for 7th District bench opening.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Commission on Judicial Selection has announced three finalists for a 7th Judicial District trial court bench vacancy in the city of St. Cloud in Stearns County. The vacancy will occur with the...

Dakota County to waive fine collection fees.(Brief Article)
September 13, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Dakota County Court Administrator announced last week that the court will temporarily waive collection fees on misdemeanor, traffic and criminal fines to increase fine collections for victims,...

Commentary: Courts rule on charges arising from illegal lane changes.
September 13, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick The movie "Changing Lanes" depicted one man's vendetta against another arising out of a slight vehicular accident. The 2002 film, which starred Ben Affleck as the protagonist and Samuel L. Jackson as his...

MN Insurance Guaranty Assn. not responsible for default by insurer, rules MN Court of Appeals.(minnesota)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore The Minnesota Insurance Guaranty Association (MIGA) was not responsible for any portion of a tort judgment where the insurer of one of the joint tortfeasors remained solvent and the damages did not exceed the policy...

Several Minnesota litigators share strategies for trying civil cases.(Panel Discussion)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Michelle Lore Several prominent members of Minnesota's legal community recently shared their successful litigation strategies and secrets with others. The information was imparted during a continuing legal education seminar -...

Minnesota Lawyer Judicial Election Web site adds candidate information for fall races.(information management)(Brief Article)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter With the primary results in and the ballot for the general election set, the Minnesota Lawyer Judicial Election Web site has now added candidate information for all of the contested races that will be...

MN Court of Appeals rules employer's claims preempted by the NLRA.(minnesota)(National Labor Relations Act)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones State court contract and tort claims by a nonunion employer against an electrician and a union are preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Court of Appeals has ruled. The defendants claimed...

MN Supreme Court says former West employees may proceed with suit.(minnesota)(Brief Article)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota Supreme Court has affirmed a ruling allowing former depositors in the West Publishing Employees' Preferred Stock Association (WPSA) to sue several officers of the investment fund's...

MN State Bar Assn.'s construction law section building membership.(minnesota)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Barbara L. Jones With construction law booming, building a niche practice in this area has become more tempting for lawyers who don't mind donning the occasional hard hat. Attorneys who want to take on construction law matters...

MN Legal Briefs: September 20, 2004.(Insurance Regulation Committee )(Brief Article)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter Rider Bennett has announced that Kathleen Daly has joined the litigation department, focusing on commercial defense litigation. She holds her bachelor's degree in History and Political Science from...

Minnesota cases commemorate Constitution Day.(celebration of constitution day on september 17, 2004)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Marshall H. Tanick Minnesota and the rest of the nation celebrated Constitution Day last Friday, Sept. 17, 2004. The date marked the 217th anniversary of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. The federal Constitution...

MN courts unveil 'new and improved' Web site.(Minnesota)(Brief Article)
September 20, 2004... Byline: Minnesota Lawyer Staff Reporter The Minnesota judicial branch recently unveiled its new Web site. According to a press release, the state court system's home page (www.courts.state.mn.us) has been redesigned to provide expanded...

National Assn. of Securities Dealers warns: Beware of brokerage firm mortgages.
September 20, 2004... Byline: James J. Eccleston The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has issued an alert to investors entitled, "100% Mortgages: The Low Down on No Money Down." In these arrangements, brokerage firm customers can pledge...