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Experience

Trials and Arbitrations

• Automated Telemarketing Services, Inc. v. Aspect Software, Inc. A 12-person federal jury awarded Maslon client $1.7 million in damages for breach of contract and tortious interference relating to the termination of a sales representative agreement. The April 1, 2011 verdict followed a week-long trial in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. (Judge Donovan Frank).
• Braun v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Represented 56,000 former and current Wal-Mart hourly employees relating to alleged wage and hour employment abuses in an approximately three-month class action trial in Dakota County, Hastings, Minnesota, September - December 2007. The Court found in favor of the class, issuing an injunction and awarding $6.5 million in compensatory and liquidated damages for failing to provide pay for rest and meal breaks and allowing certain off-the-clock work; shortly before a 2008 trial was scheduled to begin on the issues of punitive damages and civil penalties, the matter was settled for $54.25 million. (Judge Robert King, Jr.).
• MedCam v. MCNC. Defended MCNC, formerly Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, a technology-based economic development non-profit company, in a $165 million dispute over a development and license agreement claiming misappropriation of claimant's technology in a three-week arbitration hearing in Minneapolis and Raleigh, North Carolina, September 2006. The arbitrator rejected all claims, finding in MCNC's favor on issues relating to the definition of the applicable field of use and operation of the parties' noncompete agreement and awarded no damages. (Judge Robert Schiefelbein, Ret.).
• Kean Argovitz Resorts v. Willard Smith v. Lakes Entertainment, Inc. Defended Lakes Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded entity in the business of financing and managing Indian gaming operations, in a dispute with joint venture partners and others seeking to unwind two significant projects under theories of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraudulent conveyance theory in a four-week jury trial in Harris County, Houston, Texas, April - May 2005. The jury rejected all claims. (Judge Kent Sullivan).
• Wilson Learning Corporation v. Societe Performan, S.A. Sought and obtained the termination of client's French distributor and rejection of over 95% of distributor's damage claims in a one-week arbitration hearing, September 2002. (Judge John Borg, Ret.).
• Goldenberg v. Goldenberg. Represented client in trial of marital dissolution action, October 2001, Hennepin County District Court, regarding claims related to law firm valuation, nonmarital property and spousal maintenance. (Judge Stephen Swenson).
• Legion Insurance Company v. Arnstein & Lehr. Represented client in a jury trial lasting several weeks in legal malpractice action, January 2000, in United States District Court. This case related to alleged negligence committed by a law firm regarding its underlying representation of a psychiatrist in numerous psychiatric malpractice actions. (Judge Richard Kyle).
• In Re the Marriage of Rhonda Ajax and Terry J. Ajax. (Court File No.: F9-95-2278) Represented client in trial of child custody dispute, January 1997, in Anoka County District Court. (Judge Stanley Thorup).
• Christy and Pillsbury v. United States of America, 1986 WL 9819 (D. Minn. 1986) aff'd, 841 F.2d 809 (8th Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1016 (1989). Represented two Minnesota state troopers in court trial and obtained judgment on their behalf, and equal treatment for hundreds of other state troopers similarly situated, allowing them to deduct certain meal expenses as ordinary and necessary business expenses under Section 162(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. (Judge Paul Magnuson).
• Matter of Estate of Weber, 418 N.W.2d 497 (Minn. Ct. App. 1988) Represented the law firm of Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, which served as counsel for estate, relating to claim of alleged conflict of interest, successfully establishing counsel's authority to act on behalf of estate; also represented the same law firm at the trial of a companion federal case brought by beneficiaries of the estate which settled after jury selection. (Judge David Doty).
• Upper River Services, Inc. v. Pilot River. Represented plaintiff in jury trial in a lender liability action against bank on a claim of conspiracy to commit fraud. After successful trial on liability and compensatory damages, case settled prior to punitive damages phase.
• Pickwick v. Motown. Represented client in a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California over alleged breach of contract relating to Pickwick's termination of its record distribution business. (Judge Edward Rafeedie).
• Ecolab v. Kohnstamm. Represented Ecolab in successful trial against an entity from whom it purchased assets in a post-acquisition dispute relating to an indemnification provision in the purchase agreement.
• Abrams Metals v. County of Hennepin. Represented client in tax exemption dispute tried to the court in Hennepin County. (Judge Harvey Holtan).
• Miller Milling v. American Express. Represented Miller Milling in a successful arbitration before the Chicago Board of Trade relating to an unauthorized transaction by Miller Milling's broker.
• Minnie A. Peterson v. Hao Vo. Represented non-English speaking defendant/counterclaimant in a property damage automobile accident case in which plaintiff recovered nothing and counterclaimant recovered all alleged damages.

Reported and Appellate Decisions

• Sunny Fresh Foods, Inc. v. Michael Foods, Inc., 130 Fed. Appx. 459, 2005 WL 858015 (Federal Cir.). Represented client in patent infringement action between competitors over claims of four patents relating to a process by which liquid egg products could be pasteurized in order to extend their shelf life.
• Iowa Paint Mfg. v. Hirshfield Paint Mfg., Inc., No. 03-CV-40451 (S.D. Iowa 2003). Represented client in a adverse party's motion for preliminary injunction. Trial court denied the motion, allowing Maslon client to continue operations in the State of Iowa without the need to change the allegedly infringing trademark.
• Bonzel v. Pfizer Inc., No. C9-03-47, 2003 WL 21743768 (Minn. Ct. App.). Acted as co-counsel for Pfizer in a license dispute in which the licensor sought a $1 billion share of proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary of Pfizer which held the licensed asset. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of the claim, and the Minnesota Supreme Court subsequently denied plaintiff's petition for review. See also Bonzel v. Pfizer Inc., No. Civ. 04-1401 (ADM/SRN), 2004 WL 2475564 (D. Minn. Nov. 2, 2004) (plaintiff attempted to reassert similar claim under a patent infringement theory rejected by federal district court).
• Rosales v. Kean Argovitz Resorts, 35 Fed. Appx. 562, 2002 WL 1033662 (9th Cir.) (unpublished). Represented client when disgruntled members of Jamul Indian Tribe unsuccessfully sought to unwind management contract between Maslon client and the Tribe under the theories of race discrimination, claiming that their voting rights had been disenfranchised in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
• Hoffmann Electric Co. v. Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, No. C9-00-230, 2000 Minn. App. LEXIS 1295, 2000 WL 1869556 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 26, 2000) (unpublished). Represented lawyer and law firm in legal malpractice action, successfully obtaining affirmance of lower court's dismissal of suit alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, and negligence for failing to commence action within statute of limitations.
• Hubbard Feeds, Inc. v. Animal Feed Supplement, Inc., 182 F.3d 598 (8th Cir. 1999). Represented Hubbard Feeds, a manufacturer of animal feed products, against a competitor for violating its registered trademark.
• Nunez-Escudero v. Tice-Menley, slip op. (D. Minn. January 23, 1994), rev'd and remanded, 58 F.3d 374 (8th Cir. 1995). Represented a father seeking the return of his infant son to Mexico pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and established the factors to be applied in the Eighth Circuit regarding such Hague Convention petitions.
• Hall v. Creative Games Technology, Inc., 825 F. Supp. 1422 (D. Minn. 1993), aff'd, 27 F.3d 572 (8th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1155 (1995). Represented Grand Casinos, Inc. and its affiliated entities in a several hundred-million-dollar dispute seeking a declaration that certain contracts relating to Indian-gaming operations were void for failure to comply with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701-21, and other related statutes. Grand Casinos prevailed after establishing that the Indian tribes, who were not parties to the action, were indispensable parties pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 19.
• La Societe Generale Immobiliere v. Minneapolis Community Development Agency, 827 F. Supp. 1431 (D. Minn. 1993), rev'd, 44 F.3d 629 (8th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 810 (1995). Represented City of Minneapolis and its development agency on appeal and reversal of $34 million verdict against it in an action by developer for alleged breach of contract and injury to developer's reputation.
• Westinghouse Credit Corp. v. J. Reiter Sales, Inc., 443 N.W.2d 837 (Minn. Ct. App. 1989). Represented client in an action that resulted in establishing rule of law in Minnesota allowing judgment creditor to attach debtor's nonqualified retirement plan.
• Eustis v. David Agency, Inc., 417 N.W.2d 295 (Minn. Ct. App. 1987). Obtained dismissal of contribution claim in claim against attorney brought by insurer against its adversary attorney for alleged negligence.
• Progress Aviation v. Republic Airlines, 1986 WL 15157 (D. Minn.). Successfully represented Republic Airlines in a brokerage contract dispute commenced by a purported broker of aircraft. The case commenced in Federal District Court in Minnesota and was later litigated in the courts of Mexico, the Dominican Republic and France, where it was tried and the claim eventually dismissed.
• United Technologies Communications Co. v. Washington County Board, 624 F. Supp. 185 (D. Minn. 1985). Challenged a public bidding process for a county government center telephone system and obtained an injunction on behalf of client, United Technologies, prohibiting performance of the contract and forcing a new bid.
• Dollar Travel Agency, Inc. v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 354 N.W.2d 880 (Minn. Ct. App. 1984). Represented Air Traffic Conference of America and obtained dismissal of fraud claim on ground of res judicata.

Representative Cases

• FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. Employment Practices Litigation. Represent defendant corporation in Minnesota federal class action claiming that its drivers are misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees.
• Miller-Huggins v. SpaClinic, LLC. Defended putative class action alleging a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, which sought statutory damages based on client's purported willful conduct in failing to redact the expiration date of plaintiff's credit card on her customer receipt. United States District Judge John F. Grady, Northern District of Illinois, dismissed the action for failure to establish the requisite element of willfulness, March, 2010.
• Cargill, Inc. v. JWH Special Circumstance LLC. Asserted multi-million-dollar claims on behalf of JWH Global Trust's investors against Cargill, Inc. and Cargill Investor Services, Inc. arising out of Cargill's transfer of control over the Trust to Refco Group Ltd., LLC, which collapsed in October 2005 shortly after the sale by Cargill. JWH stated claims of breach of fiduciary duty and aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty.
• Aiu v. ValueVision Media, Inc. Former CEO of publicly traded home shopping network sought millions in severance pay and other damages when she was terminated from her position allegedly without cause. Her claim asserted breach of her employment agreement and various violations of Minnesota wage-related statutes, whereas ValueVision contended she was terminated for gross negligence. The matter was settled after significant discovery for a fraction of plaintiff's claimed damages.
• Anderson v. Movie Gallery, Inc. Defended whistleblower and sexual harassment claims brought against publicly traded client by former administrative assistant of company's chief executive officer. Claim against client was dismissed on the eve of trial.
• Cryo-Cell International, Inc. v. Cryo-Cell Europe. Obtained termination of exclusive European distributor and collection of royalties on behalf of publicly traded client in the business of processing and storing umbilical cord blood cells. 
• BabyDayz Inc. v. HLLB. Represented licensee in a dispute with licensor over whether licensee properly rescinded agreement and whether licensee's subsequent conduct constituted patent infringement and breach of contract.
• Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi v. Brosnahan Lockhart Joseph & Suggs. Represented plaintiff law firm in claim against four of its former partners over fees generated in L-tryptophan litigation. 
• Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association v. Dain Bosworth. Represented the Guaranty Association and five individuals who lost their investments in a single premium deferred annuity sold by Dain Bosworth, Hennepin County District Court. The court found for Guaranty Association in holding that a fiduciary duty existed; case later settled for approximately $15 million. (Judge Philip Bush).
• Valspar v. Piper Jaffray. Represented client in breach of fiduciary duty claim on behalf of profit sharing trust against brokerage firm relating to investment advice and trading practices. A confidential settlement was obtained on behalf of client.
• Federal Reserve Bank v. County of Hennepin. Represented client in a real estate property tax protest. Obtained a property tax assessment reduction from approximately $40 million to $20 million.
• Carmeda v. Medtronic, Inc. Represented Medtronic in a contract dispute regarding development and licensing rights to certain technology with Norwegian partner in an arbitration pending in Sweden.
• Nationwide Communications, Inc. v. United Television, Inc. Represented owner of a television communications tower in a lease dispute with tenant.
• City of Minneapolis v. County of Hennepin. Represented the City of Minneapolis in a lease dispute over the city's lease of space in the Hennepin County Government Center.
• Innovative Gaming Corporation v. State of Wisconsin. Represented Innovative Gaming in a matter that resulted in allowing the client to sell and distribute its gaming equipment within the State of Wisconsin.
• Numerous trademark, copyright and patent infringement matters.