Maslon Minnesota Law General Commercial Litigation Experience

General Commercial Litigation

Lender Liability Claim Defeated: Maslon vindicated an asset based secured lender in a lender liability lawsuit by fourteen dairy farmers seeking a return of $1.2 million in prepayments made to a defunct commodities broker. The dairy farmers all claimed the prepayments were to be held in trust and that the lender never could have obtained title to the funds from the broker. In May, 2003 Maslon obtained summary judgment in favor of the lender on all claims in an eighty page opinion by the federal district court for the Central District of California, which the plaintiffs decided not to appeal. Weststeyn Dairy, et al. v. Diversified Business Credit.
Lender Liability Claims Dismissed: In 2003 and 2004 Maslon successfully defended Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in two lender liability actions. Maslon succeeded in having the cases dismissed on summary judgment grounds. In the most recent case, the Judge issued a 17 page opinion in which he, among other things, adopted Maslon's analysis of Minnesota's lender liability statute of frauds. Maslon argued, and the Judge agreed, that this statute, which was enacted to protect lenders from claims based on alleged oral agreements, is broader than the traditional statute of frauds and protects lenders even against claims of equitable and promissory estoppel. In 2003 Maslon obtained summary judgment in another mortgage foreclosure action on the borrower's lender liability defenses. Among other things, our client defeated the borrower's claim that, based on the Bank's commitment letter, the Bank (Maslon's client) should have funded the loan when the SBA failed to do so.
Motion to Enjoin Termination of Distribution Agreement Defeated: Maslon successfully defeated a sales representative's motion for a temporary restraining order seeking to block termination of a sales relationship. Watkins Incorporated v. Lewis, 2002 WL 31319491 (D. Minn. 2002).
Licensing Suit Dismissed: Maslon was co-counsel for Pfizer Inc. in a license dispute in which the licensor sought up to a $1 billion share of proceeds from the sale of a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. which held the licensed asset. The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed dismissal of the claim on forum non conveniens grounds. Bonzel v. Pfizer, Inc., 2003 WL 21743768 (Minn. Ct. App. 2003).
Wal-Mart Employment Class Action Certified -- Maslon is currently representing a class of over 65,000 current and former hourly workers at Wal-Mart's Minnesota stores seeking compensation for off-the-clock work, and for missed mandatory meal and rest breaks. The case is pending in Dakota County District Court, which granted Maslon's motion for class certification in November, 2003 On February 18, 2004, the Minnesota Supreme Court denied Wal-Mart's petition for discretionary review of the class certification order. The case is now proceeding to trial. Braun v. Wal-Mart, 2003 WL 22990114 (Minn. Dist. Ct. November 3, 2003.)
Chemical Supply Contract Dispute Settled. Maslon represented a large chemical manufacturer in a breach of contract action in Hennepin County to recover for the breach of a guaranteed $20 million dollar purchase requirement. The case settled in 2002 on the eve of trial pursuant to a confidential settlement. DiverseyLever v. Carlson Companies.
Food Supply Contract Enforced. Maslon defeated a summary judgment motion permitting the client to seek lost profits for breach of a food supply contract, despite contractual provisions limiting or disclaiming these remedies. Sparta Foods v. Rupari Food Services, 2003 WL 22047865 (D Minn. August 29, 2003).
Legal Malpractice Claim Dismissed: Maslon represented a prominent law firm in a legal malpractice action, successfully obtaining affirmance of a lower court's dismissal of a suit alleging failure to commence an action within a statute of limitations. Hoffmann Electric Co. v. Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, 2000 WL 1869556 (Minn. Ct. App. Dec. 26, 2000).
Dealer Termination Claims Arbitrated to Successful Decision: In 2002, Maslon represented a global creator and distributor of corporate training seminars in litigation to terminate one of its European distributors for failure to make its sales quota. We defended the client against counter-claims for breach of contract based upon a claim of territory encroachment. After a four-day arbitration, the client prevailed on the termination issue and paid minimal damages to the distributor on the counterclaim.
Municipal Ordinance to Loan Parking Revenues Enforced On behalf of an indenture trustee, Maslon successfully argued for affirmance of a district court mandamus order to the City of Spokane, Washington, compelling the city to loan funds pursuant to a municipal ordinance that was critical to a $31.5 million municipal bond financing. Eugene v. City of Spokane, 118 Wn. App. 383, 76 P.3d 741 (Wash. Ct. App. 2003).