David Minge

The case involved a Minnesota lawsuit by subcontractor JL Schwieters Construction against Goldridge Group and related entities over unpaid work on a senior living center project and alleged fraudulent transfers from the insolvent White Pines LLC subsidiary to its parent Goldridge Group. Goldridge Group, a Wisconsin company, moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, arguing insufficient minimum contacts with Minnesota. The district court denied the motion, and the appellate court affirmed, reasoning that pretrial evidence showed Goldridge Group treated White Pines LLC as its alter ego or instrumentality by controlling its operations, guaranteeing loans, and receiving direct transfers, allowing imputation of the subsidiary's Minnesota contacts.

procedurebusiness & regulatory

The case involved the City of St. Paul challenging the dismissal of its certiorari appeal from a civil service commission decision under the Veterans Preference Act that prevented the termination of a veteran firefighter. The district court had dismissed the city's appeal as untimely under the 15-day deadline in Minn. Stat. § 197.46. The appeals court reversed, holding that the 60-day deadline in Minn. Stat. § 484.01, subd. 2 applies to first-class cities seeking judicial review of such decisions because the VPA's appeal provisions address only veterans' appeals and do not govern employers. The court reasoned from the plain statutory language and principles of statutory construction that the VPA does not authorize or set deadlines for an employer's appeal.

labor & employmentprocedure

The case involved Adolph Valentine's conviction on two counts of felony domestic assault against his girlfriend J.K. following an incident in which witnesses reported he pulled her from a car and struck her. Valentine appealed, arguing that the district court erred by admitting evidence of his prior assaults on another girlfriend as relationship evidence under Minn. Stat. § 634.20 and as Spreigl evidence, allowing expert testimony on battered-woman syndrome, admitting voicemail messages, and that prosecutorial misconduct and cumulative errors deprived him of a fair trial. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction, concluding the prior-assault evidence was properly admitted because its probative value was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, the other evidentiary rulings were not erroneous or did not meet the plain-error standard, and any errors were harmless given the strength of the evidence against Valentine.

criminal lawprocedurefamily law

The case concerned voters in the Eastern Carver County school district who sought a writ of mandamus to compel the school board to hold a board election on November 3, 2009, after the board adopted a resolution transitioning its elections from odd- to even-numbered years by extending the terms of sitting members by one year. The district court denied the writ, and the court of appeals affirmed. The court held that Minnesota law authorizes school boards to make such a transition through an orderly plan, that the board's plan satisfied this requirement and involved discretionary judgment not subject to mandamus, and that alternative remedies such as a petition under Minn. Stat. § 204B.44 were available to the appellants.

electionsprocedure

In State v. Arends, the state charged the defendant with theft by swindle for unauthorized credit card use against her former employer, after the parties had settled a related civil wrongful-termination lawsuit that included counterclaims for the alleged theft. The civil settlement released all claims arising from the employment and provided that neither party would pay anything. The district court certified the question of whether such a complete civil settlement precludes the state from seeking restitution for the victim in the criminal case. The court of appeals answered yes, holding that a valid, complete settlement resolving all economic-loss claims means the victim has no uncompensated loss, so restitution—which requires proof of actual economic loss under Minn. Stat. § 611A.045—is unavailable.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved a bank suing borrowers and their company for defaulting on promissory notes, a contract for deed, and related security agreements covering both real property and business assets, after a series of transactions that refinanced prior debts; the bank also sought attorney fees incurred in enforcing its rights, including in a prior related lawsuit by another creditor. The district court awarded the bank attorney fees, denied a jury trial on the fees issue, dismissed counterclaims including for punitive damages, and distributed court-deposited funds to the bank. On appeal, the court affirmed, holding that the state constitution does not require a jury trial for attorney fees that are collateral to a contract rather than direct damages, that the fee award was reasonable and supported by the loan documents, and that the funds were properly awarded under procedural rules governing deposits in lieu of a supersedeas bond. The decision rested on contract interpretation, the distinction between contractual fee recovery and other remedies, and the absence of error in factual findings or discretionary rulings.

business & regulatorypropertyprocedure