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Evidence of Spiraling Financial Regulation Fulfill My Predictions

Marc Dann October 26, 2018

Like most attorneys, I’ve spent sleepless nights worrying about what will happen if the phones go silent or clients stop coming through the office door. Fortunately, DannLaw has been extremely busy lately. Unfortunately, the influx of clients hasn’t relieved my insomnia. Now I’m up agonizing about the future of our country. That’s because the factors that are driving my intakes

Class Certification Is Not a Determination on Liability

Jim Timmerberg October 26, 2018

Class action defendants have developed a mantra that, at the certification stage, “a trial court must undertake a rigorous analysis, which may include probing the underlying merits of the plaintiff’s claim[.]” Stammco, L.L.C. v United Tel. Co. of Ohio. Defendants often improperly interpret the probing of the underlying merits to mean that, instead of addressing the Rule 23 prerequisites when

E-Mail Notice Has Arrived In Rule 23 Class Actions

Nicole Fiorelli October 26, 2018

When a court certifies a class action, due process requires that the class members receive notice. Although email accounts are ubiquitous and generally available for free to anyone with internet access, courts have been reluctant to approve email notice as the primary form of notice to class members. That reluctance is misplaced. Courts have never required that notice in Rule

Get Out: How to Force a Non-Statutory Buyout From a Company

Phil Kaplan October 26, 2018

When the owners of a closely held Minnesota company end up in a lawsuit with each other, you can usually expect one of the owners to request a fair value buyout of his or her interest. Minnesota law is unique in that both the Minnesota Business Corporation Act and the Minnesota Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act expressly provide for

Minnesota Uniform Conflicts of Laws – Limitations Act and Personal Injury Defense

Jamae Pennings October 26, 2018

When a plaintiff is time-barred from pursuing a personal injury action in a state with a connection to her claim because the statute of limitations has run, she may seek to bring her claim in a state such as Minnesota, with a six-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases, to take advantage of the longer limitations period. Minn. Stat.

Your Patent Attorney Is Not Unscrupulous

Z. Peter Sawicki and James L. Young October 26, 2018

Our English language is a quirky one. Pronunciation oddities, inconsistent grammatical rules and, of course, the continual quandary: “its” vs. “it’s.” English has numerous words that have negative connotations but, in many cases, the positive variation of that word is not in our common vernacular. Examples of such words are: uncouth, unravel, unwieldy, and unscrupulous. Really, when was the last

Pitfalls to Avoid: Attorney’s Fees Under Rule 9.100

Robin Bresky October 17, 2018

A party seeking or opposing issuance of a writ in an original proceeding under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100 may have statutory or contractual grounds for seeking an award of attorney’s fees, but there are some potential procedural pitfalls as to the method and timing of requesting the award. METHOD The correct method of seeking attorney’s fees in original

Franchise Non-Compete Agreements: Mostly Unenforceable As Written

Jonathan Pollard October 17, 2018

For the past several decades, courts in many jurisdictions have handed out injunctions like candy in franchise non-compete cases. This is, of course, dead wrong. Here is a great example from my case files. Joe owns five McDonald’s locations in a high traffic area. Joe decides not to renew his franchise agreement. He figures he can go start some other

Trademark Fair Use In Artistic Works

LaShel Shaw October 16, 2018

Art imitates life, it’s said, but this creates interesting legal tensions when the life being imitated is crowded with commercials. Marketing experts estimate that the average American is exposed to thousands, if not tens of thousands, of brand logos and advertisements each day. It is not surprising, then, that film makers, artists, musicians, and authors often want to use trademarks

What Your Foreign Clients Need To Know About Working In The U.S.

Giselle Carson October 16, 2018

As the world’s largest market and the land of opportunities, the U.S. attracts many foreign businesses seeking to grow. These businesses often have a difficult time finding qualified workers to fill critical and unique jobs. In many cases, foreign businesses need to hire non-U.S. nationals for their U.S. operations. Unfortunately, they find that U.S. immigration law is very complex and

For the Public

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