280 results for 'court:"USDC Minnesota"'.
J. Tunheim grants the commercial and indirect beef purchasers' motion for an award of attorneys' fees, reimbursement of litigation expenses and a class representative service award related to a class-action settlement with meat packers in ongoing multi-district antitrust litigation. The past litigation expenses incurred were reasonable and necessary, and a $1.75 million fund for future litigation expenses is appropriate. Attorney fees totaling just over $8 million are also appropriate, as is a $15,000 service award.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 0:22md3031, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Wright denies the city, county and park board's motions for judgment on the pleadings in the recently homeless individuals and nonprofit's suit alleging that sweeps of encampments in Minneapolis parks violate their civil rights and unlawfully convert their property. While all of the individual plaintiffs are now housed, the transitory nature of homelessness and housing instability are sufficient to confer standing to pursue injunctive relief. They have also adequately alleged that the governments had unconstitutional customs of providing insufficient notice before shutting down encampments and seizing or destroying property found in them, and that they coordinated encampment closures with each other. The nonprofit has also adequately pleaded that the diversion of funds to pay for hotel rooms for displaced encampment residents constituted an injury traceable to the governments' conduct.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv2189, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Injunction
J. Tunheim grants final approval to a class action settlement agreed to by commercial and institutional indirect beef purchasers in multi-district antitrust litigation alleging price-fixing by meatpackers. The settlement, which provides $25 million in monetary compensation and a guarantee of cooperation by one of the packers in ongoing litigation, is fair, reasonable and adequate, and all relevant requirements for class action settlements are satisfied.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tunheim, Filed On: November 21, 2023, Case #: 0:22md3031, NOS: Antitrust - Other Suits, Categories: Antitrust, Class Action
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J. Richard Nelson denies the trademark claimants' motions for a permanent injunction and for attorney fees and the trademark defendant's motion for a judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial or remittur. A reasonable jury could find that the trademark defendant directly copied its competitor's parabolic heater's manual for its own product's manual, so its verdict stands. The jury's award of maximum statutory damages was also reasonable. The defendant has not distributed the manual at issue for years, so the trademark plaintiff's claimed harms are too speculative to warrant an injunction. The trademark defendant's arguments were also not so unreasonable or meritless as to justify an award of attorney fees.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Richard Nelson, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 0:18cv3321, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark, Attorney Fees, Injunction
J. Wright grants the life insurer's motion for summary judgment in the daughters' suit arguing that a change in the beneficiaries of their mother's life insurance policy shortly before her death was fraudulent and that the insurer's payout only to the sole remaining beneficiary after that change was a violation of its fiduciary duties. The daughters' allegations are too speculative to warrant reformation of their mother's policy, and the insurer did not breach its fiduciary duty by honoring the latest designation.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv2247, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Fraud
J. Docherty adopts a protective order largely as agreed upon by the parties in the automaker's trademark suit against the aftermarket parts seller. Disputes between the parties as to whether an in-house attorney at the automaker's parent company and retained experts and consultants should be able to see discovery material designated "attorneys' eyes only" are resolved largely in favor of the parts seller, with the caveats that the automaker's outside counsel may negotiate with the parts seller's counsel for de-designation should they need to share such information with the in-house counsel, and that the court will be "alert to over-use" of that designation and may order de-designation should it be misused.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Docherty, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1681, NOS: Trademark - Property Rights, Categories: Trademark, Discovery
J. Menendez partially grants the trucking company's motion for attorney fees and costs in its breach-of-contract suit against a logistics broker alleging failures to pay for hauling services. While the motion was filed after a deadline, it is not denied as untimely since the delay was minimal, did not prejudice the broker, and does not appear to have been a result of bad faith. Additionally, unlawful covenants in a non-competition agreement the broker sought to enforce in its defense are not ancillary to the party's other agreement, and therefore do not entitle the trucking company to fees under a Texas law's fee-shifting provision. The trucking company is entitled to just over $72,000 in pre-judgment interest and some amount of post-judgment interest, to be determined by agreement of the parties if possible.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv2538, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Menendez partially grants the plaintiff insurance brokerage's motion for summary judgment on two claims in its suit against another insurance brokerage with which it had a longtime arrangement to solicit and service some business clients together, splitting revenue. The plaintiff brokerage has shown that the two brokerages had a contract, that it was breached when the defendant brokerage stopped sharing revenue for one of those clients, and that the plaintiff brokerage is the "seller" of that account to the defendant brokerage under the terms of the contract. Summary judgment is also granted on a declaratory-judgment claim, but the plaintiff brokerage's requested remedy of specific performance is denied so that the parties can negotiate remedies.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1648, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Interference With Contract, Contract
J. Tostrud grants the employer and its long-term disability plan's motion for judgment on the administrative record in the employee's suit alleging that his disability benefits were improperly terminated. Substantial evidence supported the plan's determination that the employee was not totally disabled, including his treating mental health provider's conclusion that he was "cleared to work from a mental health standpoint" and his treating physician's failure to oppose the plan doctor's determination that he was not physically disabled.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1552, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Health Care
J. Wright grants final approval to a class action settlement in an action alleging securities law violations by a smart-home tech company. The relief provided by the settlement, which provides that the company spend $300,000 yearly for the next five years to improve its risk management practices and implement other terms designed to protect its shareholders, is adequate. Attorney fees of $1,600,000 and service awards of $15,000 to named plaintiffs are also appropriate.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Attorney Fees, Class Action
J. Frank grants the employer's motion for summary judgment in the employee's suit alleging that his termination was racially discriminatory, and denies a request to file four exhibits submitted at a summary judgment hearing. The employee's claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act are time-barred, he has not exhausted his administrative remedies for his retaliation claims, and he has not demonstrated a causal link between alleged racially derogatory statements by supervisors, patients and coworkers and his termination. The employer, meanwhile, has provided a non-discriminatory reason for his firing, namely a significant number of complaints from other staff and from patients in the two years before his termination. He also has not demonstrated that his work environment was objectively hostile.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Frank, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1407, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination
J. Tostrud grants summary judgment to the patent defendants in a dispute over commercial lighting control panels. The evidence the patent claimant has identified in support of its argument that a reasonable juror could find that panels manufactured and installed by the defendants infringe on its patents is insufficient to support that contention, since the panels do not include "soft start circuitry" or a "plurality of soft start LED light banks" couple with that circuitry, as specified in the patents at issue.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 0:23cv150, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
J. Wright grants the law firm and lawyer's motion to dismiss their former client's legal malpractice suit stemming from their representation in three prior legal malpractice suits. The client's failure to comply with a 180-day deadline to serve an expert affidavit warrants dismissal of its malpractice claims, and remaining claims arise from the same factual basis and are therefore dismissed along with it.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv2289, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Fraud, Experts, Legal Malpractice
J. Tostrud partially dismisses the abortion opponents' challenge to a city ordinance prohibiting them from physically disrupting access to reproductive healthcare facilities, which they argue unfairly targets their "sidewalk counseling" activities on the basis of religion and violates their freedoms of speech and association. Claims arguing that the ordinance violates freedom of association and is void for vagueness are dismissed, but claims arguing that the ordinance is overbroad and violates the freedoms of speech and religion survive. Fact questions remain as to whether the ordinance is narrowly tailored and whether it is prohibits conduct because of its religious purposes.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: October 30, 2023, Case #: 0:23cv853, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, First Amendment
J. Leung largely denies the orthopedic clinic's motion for a new trial or remittitur in the patient's case against it related to compartment syndrome he developed after a surgery performed at the clinic. The clinic has not demonstrated that any evidentiary errors substantially influenced the jury's verdict, nor that alleged attorney misconduct in closing arguments is sufficient to warrant a new trial. The jury's damages award was, however, so excessive at $110 million as to warrant remittitur, particularly given its status as the largest award in a medical malpractice or personal injury case in Minnesota history and the patient's continued ability to walk and go about his daily activities. The patient is offered the choice to accept $10 million in non-economic damages or to retry on the issue of non-economic damages. A $1.25 million economic damages award stands.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Leung, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 0:19cv2568, NOS: Personal Injury - Medical Malpractice - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Damages, Medical Malpractice
J. Tostrud grants motions to dismiss brought by two of the three defendant chemical manufacturers in a competitor's suit alleging that they misappropriated confidential information and trade secrets related to bovine teat-dip products which were made available to them under a license agreement with the competitor's predecessor. Neither of the two manufacturers has sufficient contacts with Minnesota to justify the exercise of personal jurisdiction, and the competitor has not established that their alleged misappropriations were "uniquely or expressly aimed" at Minnesota. The competitor's request for jurisdictional discovery and an opportunity to supplement the record as to jurisdictional issues is denied, as is its motion to redact the transcript of a hearing on these motions.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv479, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Trade Secrets, Jurisdiction, Contract
J. Wright grants final approval to a class-action settlement in securities litigation, the exact nature of which remains under seal, but which involved allegations that a company misrepresented facts about its products and supply chains to investors. The settlement provides adequate relief for all class members in the form of reforms to the company's corporate governance and risk management, and the attorney fees awarded are appropriate.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1965, NOS: Securities/Commodities/Exchange - Other Suits, Categories: Securities, Class Action
J. Wright denies the former employee and his new employer's motion to dismiss the prior employer's suit claiming violations of noncompetition agreements, but grants their motion to strike an amended complaint and denies the former employer's motion to amend. The lack of a signature from the former employer's CEO on the employee's employment agreement does not render it unenforceable, and the former employer has sufficiently pled a legitimate business interest justifying restrictive covenants in the agreements. The employee and new employer's argument that the former employer has not sufficiently pled its claims involving non-compete or supplier or employee non-solicit violations is barred because it was not raised in their first motion to dismiss, and the former employer has adequately pled two tortious-interference claims.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: October 25, 2023, Case #: 0:21cv1512, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Employment, Contract
J. Tostrud largely denies the insurer's motions for summary judgment in its suit seeking a judgment that it is not obligated to defend the insured order of Catholic priests against claims that one of their members sexually abused children, and grants the order's motions to join some of those children's responses to the insurer's motions for summary judgment. While two alleged abuse victims are not entitled to coverage under the insurer's policies since they did not suffer a "bodily injury" required to trigger coverage, two others did suffer such injuries and therefore coverage is not precluded. A reasonable juror also could find that the order did not know that the priest was likely to engage in abusive behavior prior to the incidents potentially covered by the policy.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Tostrud, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv2261, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Tort
J. Richard Nelson grants the employer's motion for summary judgment in the employee's suit alleging that she was demoted from a management position for her opposition to Black Lives Matter and critical race theory. The employee has not shown that her termination was motivated by her race as a Filipina woman, and her emails concerning the "political bent" of work events and her feelings that she had been portrayed as racist were not protected activity since she has not identified any employment practice being objected to. She has also not pleaded a connection between her objections, either personally or on Facebook, and adverse actions.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Richard Nelson, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv352, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Employment Discrimination, Employment Retaliation
J. Docherty grants the voting machine company's motion to compel discovery and partially grants the pillow maker's motion to compel. The voting machine company's motion, which seeks discovery regarding the pillow maker's financial situation to support its theory that he was motivated to defame the company by financial gain and its claim for punitive damages, is based on plausibly pleaded claims and relevant to its claim of actual malice. The pillow maker's motion, meanwhile, is successful as to the company's initial disclosures, and the company shall provide an estimate of its claimed economic and punitive damages. It is also successful as regarding an interrogatory seeking an itemized list of all damages being claimed. It is also ordered to supplement its responses to a number of other interrogatories.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Docherty, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv98, NOS: Assault, Libel, & Slander - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Defamation, Discovery
J. Menendez dismisses the insured's suit against his life insurance provider for failure to state a claim. The insured's claims, stemming from assertions that language concerning premium payments and the cash value of his policy was unclear and confusing, are variously time-barred or not based on a statutorily-established private right of action. An unjust-enrichment claim also fails since the parties are governed by a valid contract and the insured has not shown that the insurer was not entitled to premiums he paid.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Menendez, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 0:23cv1112, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Contract