Legal Headlines
“I need a will” is a phrase attorneys and financial advisors hear frequently from clients. It is common belief that a will somehow puts everything in order upon a death. For many clients, a will can and does facilitate an orderly distribution of assets...
About five thousand cases have been filed with the NVICP on behalf of children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as PDDNOS or Autism; these cases allege that the children were injured through exposure to Thimerosal contained in childhood vaccines.
Lommen Abdo Attorneys Barry O'Neil and Ken Abdo represent Kristen Hall, a founder of the band Sugarland, in litigation against her former band members for a share of profits relating to assets she created for the band. The case was filed in July with...
The Minnesota State Supreme Court has ruled that, in a failure to diagnosis cancer case, the statute of limitations begins at the point when...
Effective August 1, 2008, Minnesota law will allow a policyholder to sue his or her insurance company for not settling a claim in “good faith,” meaning that the policyholder may prevail if he or she can prove that the insurance company did not...
Vaccine administration is part of the everyday preventive health care provided to patients. Vaccines have eradicated once devastating diseases such as polio and small pox and have greatly reduced morbidity from other disease such as measles and rubella....
INTRODUCTION
Events of school violence and a school district's response to the risk of violence both raise liability issues. Not only does a school face the risk of a liability when a student is harmed, school districts and officials face the possibility...
A number of websites tout that a parents can control their children's education by limiting what schools can teach by invoking a federal statute. These sources provide form letters so that parents can "assert their rights" under federal law and demand...
Lommen Abdo Attorney Kay Hunt argued that "light cigarette" fraud claim is not preempted by federal laws
MINNESOTA COURT OF APPEALS RULES THAT MINNESOTA FRAUD CLAIM STANDS AGAINST CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS WHO MISREPRESENTED THEIR PRODUCTS AS "LIGHT"...
Counsel who practice in the area of professional liability are also watching another legal malpractice case pending before the Minnesota Supreme Court: Mahony & Hagberg, P.A. v. Newgard, 712 N.W.2d 215 (Minn. App.), review granted (June 20, 2006). The Mahoney case involves...
Last summer, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. vs. White, 126 S.Ct. 2405 (2006). As a result, it became easier for Minnesota employees to prevail on claims of retaliation against their employers.
Retaliation...
APAC v. Ardmor was heard before the Minnesota Supreme Court on October 11, 2006. The hearing took place at Hutchinson High School as part of the Supreme Court's "Traveling Oral Arguments" program. The entire high school was in attendance, and the students were able to...
Keith Broady and Phil Cole appeared in Ramsey County District Court on August 30th representing 75 bondholders owning $16.5 million in bonds issued by the Port Authority involving the 876 Common Bond Fund. There are outstanding bonds of about $51.6 million. Therefore, our bondholders...
Of the hundreds film festivals in the United States, the premiere film festival for the independent film industry is the Sundance Film Festival held each year in January in Park City, Utah. Sundance, now in its 25th year, has defined and directed independen
A School Violence can occur anywhere, every school must have a comprehensive safety plan in place as well as a crisis response plan which can be implemented instantly if needed. The recent one year anniversary of the school shootings in Red Lake on March 21, 2006 provided all educators...
Thimerosal vaccine litigation is alive, well and moving slowly forward to resolution. As you may be aware, under the Federal National Vaccine Compensation Program ("Program"), persons who have sustained an injury because of the receipt of certain vaccines can seek compensation for their...
Churches and religious schools can be faced with the issue as to whether they may fire or refuse to employ an individual based upon a person’s sexual orientation. Under Minnesota law, if the job itself is tied to the religious purpose of the organization, the courts will likely support a decision...
The Minnesota Legislature and Governor Tim Pawlenty have passed into law a new formula for determining child support payments -- and the changes could affect your family.
Instead of considering only the income of the child support payer, the new formula factors in the incomes of both parents. Until the...
I frequently field phone calls from employees who are concerned about information in their personnel files, and what information their former employer may give to potential employers. The answers to their questions are usually governed by statute in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The following is an overview of...
Despite thousands of patients who are injured each year while receiving medical treatment, the last decade has seen an increase in attempted medical malpractice reform. Most notably, this reform includes legislative initiatives to cap the amount of non-economic damages patients can receive in a medical malpractice...
From a creditor’s point of view there is nothing more unfair than a preference claim. The very thought of returning money to a debtor to whom you provided goods and/or services stands the concept of fairness on its head. However, effective October 17, 2005, the preference statutes may finally get a bit more fair...
In 1982, the Minnesota legislature passed laws governing the unique relationship between manufactured home park owners and residents. The legislature intended to make major changes in the existing laws governing the rights and duties of owners and residents of manufactured home parks.1 While considering the enactment of...
Robert J. King, Jr.
Lommen, Nelson, Cole & Stageberg, P.A.
Since the 1968 Larsen1 decision of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, it has been recognized across the country that manufacturers of safety equipment are responsible for injuries that would not have occurred but for the failure of that equipment. If a child’s...
The following article was published in the Sept/Oct 2004 edition of The Hennepin Lawyer.
James H. Kaster and Diane M. Odeen
August 27, 2004
...
On Juy 29, 2004, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that service of mechanics' lien statement by certified mail is effective upon mailing.
Minnesota Statute § 514.08 requires that a mechanics' lien statement be served by hand or certified mail within 120 days after the lien claimant's last contribution of labor or material to...
On March 22, 2004, Governor Pawlenty signed into law new legislation that provides increased legal protection for employers that communicate job reference information about current or former employees.
In April 2004 the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final “FairPay” overtime regulations guaranteeing overtime protection to workers earning less than $23,660 per year – or $455 per week. The new regulations become effective in late August, 120 days after publication in the Federal Register.
A Dakota County jury rendered a $383,628 verdict in favor of Manufactured Home Park Residents of Cedar Knolls in Apple Valley.
The Case of Schaff, et al. v. Chateau Communities, Inc., Dakota Court File No. 19-CX-03-6402, is a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of all of the residents of Cedar Knolls Manufactured Home Community...
A National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established in 1986 after reports of harmful side effects from DPT (deptheria, pertussis, tetanus) vaccinations were perceived as posing “liability concerns” for vaccine manufacturers. Parents of injured children had filed numerous lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers...
Sheila Bjorklund, a partner at Lommen Nelson, has obtained the first decision in the country on when the statute of limitations begins to run in cases alleging that childhood vaccines caused or triggered autism. In the landmark case of Setnes v. HHS, Judge Bohdan Futey, of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, recognized that the onset of autism...
Bashing Public Schools Says More About Bashers than Schools
By Keith Broady, Chair, Association of Metropolitan School Districts
It has become popular sport for a small cadre of persons to engage in bashing of public schools at any opportunity. The latest example is Ron Eibensteiner’s June 13, 2004 diatribe, full of vulgar and...
What are the risks?
Business owners can ward off disruptive -- and sometimes destructive -- discord by using a comprehensive buy-sell agreement.1 A buy-sell agreement is a binding contract which requires one party to sell and another party to buy a specified ownership interest when a triggering event occurs. Triggering events can be the death,...
Over the past 10 years, there appears to have been an increase in the diagnosis of autism in children. In the same time period, children have been exposed to increased amounts of thimerosal, a perservative used in childhood vaccines. Thimerosal is a toxic organic mercury. The increased exposure to thimerosal has occurred, at least in part, due to the...
With the cost of education continuing to rise at twice the rate of inflation, individuals are giving greater attention to the funding issues while Congress has continued to expand the tax incentives for various approaches to financing. In addition, a new Minnesota college savings plan, a compliment to plans currently available in over 40 states,...
The tragedy of September 11, 2001 has raised a myriad of issues for businesses and employers. The following is a brief summary of the protection afforded to individuals who leave their employment for military service. The law contains very specific requirements that must be complied with by all employers. Employers should consult legal counsel before making...
You realize that your hobby has the potential to become a profitable full-time business. Or, perhaps while mowing the lawn you have an epiphany that will revolutionize the widget industry. In either case, you consider starting your own business. You ask yourself, do I need to bother with the time and expense of creating a separate business entity; can’t...
Kenneth J. Abdo, Esq. [1] Professor Jack P. Sahl [2]
A. INTRODUCTION
Entertainment law is a highly competitive practice in which the lawyer often assumes non-traditional legal roles and responsibilities. Marketing, advertising, selling (shopping), packaging, networking and deal-making are common business activities for...
CLEARING RIGHTS FOR FILM AND TELEVISION
PRODUCTIONS
By Daniel M. Satorius, Esq.
Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A.
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS THIS PROCESS OF CLEARING RIGHTS? Clearing rights in motion picture and television programs is the process of determining whether the production violates the rights of third parties or is otherwise...
OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY:
Financing the Low Budget Independent Feature Film
With Private Equity Securities Offerings
By Daniel M. Satorius, Esq.
Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A.
In recent years, low budget independent films have been made in record numbers. Most are financed from sources outside of the motion picture and television...