Minnesota like other states has warranty protection for consumers of tractors and other farm equipment.  These protections typically arise under warranty law, but they can also arise under a statute, like a lemon law.  Minnesota duty-to-repair provision and the refund-and-replace provision of the lemon law, as applied to farm equipment, can only arise as to warranties on the engine and power train. Minn. Stat. §§ 325F.6653     This opinion will be unpublished and may not be cited except as provided by Minn. Stat. § 480A.08, subd. 3 (2010). STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS A11-732 Joel O. Jansen, …

A Minnesota contract lawyer is often asked, Do I have a contract that is enforceable?  Or, a contract lawyer hears, Can I get out of this contract? The answer often depends on whether a contract was formed.  This case discusses contract formation in Minnesota.     UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Spice Corp, Plaintiff v. Foresight Marketing Partners, Inc.; Foresight Marketing Group, Inc.; and Sandisk Corporation, Defendants. Plaintiff Spice Corp (“Spice”) brought this action against Defendants Foresight Marketing Partners, Inc. (“FMP”), Foresight Marketing Group, Inc. (“FMG”), and SanDisk Corporation (“SanDisk”). In its Complaint, Plaintiff asserts a number of …

“Would my case be heard in state or federal court?” Minnesota business lawyers are typically asked why cases are in federal court rather than state court.  Typically, to be in federal court a dispute must be over $75,000 and have plaintiffs and defendants from different states.  If a plaintiff and defendant are from the same state, generally, a dispute cannot be heard in federal court.  Also, if the dispute is not in excess of $75,000, it cannot be heard in federal court.  When calculating the amount in dispute, the amount expended for attorney’s fees are a part of the matter …

Fraud occurs if a person remains silent when they have  duty to speak.  Business lawyers know that a “constructive” fraud can only occur in the context of fiduciary obligations and is simply a characterization of a breach of such a duty. As such, if no special relationship exists between the parties, a person does not have a duty to speak.   UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Ron Yary; Kenneth D. Resnick and Marion L. Resnick, individually and as trustees of the Marion L. Resnick Revocable Trust created on September 7, 1995; and Irving Braverman, Plaintiffs, v. Stuart A. …

Minnesota business lawyers are often called upon to answer if an employee non-compete is enforceable. The short answer is that it depends.  This case says that post-employment independent-consideration requirement not applicable to independent contractor hired as employee. So, in this context, non-competes are enforceable.       Schmit Towing, Inc., Appellant, v. Chris Frovik, individually, d/b/a FTR Towing and Recovery, Respondent. Court of Appeals of Minnesota. Filed November 9, 2010. Ryan P. Myers, Christopher P. Parrington, Benjamin R. Skjold, Skjold Barthel, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for appellant. Wendy G. M. Lahn, Susan Guertin, Law Office of Charles W. LaDue, Coon Rapids, …

A business lawyer is often asked if the client has a trade secret that can be protected. The issue often arises in the context of an employee leaving a job and working for a competitor.  Generally speaking, the Uniform Trade Secret Act states that a trade secret derives its value from not being readily ascertainable.  This means that if the information can be ultimately discerned by others—whether through independent investigation, accidental discovery, or reverse engineering—does not make it unprotectable. Instead, the court must look at whether the duplication of the information would require a substantial investment of time, effort, and …

A good sample and model form of landlord tenant agreement is published by the Minnesota Bar Association.  It can be found here: http://www.mnbar.org/sections/real-property/forms/leaseopenerv4.htm  

The list of laws a landlord should be concerned about are voluminous.  But a good start for all landlords would be to review this publication from Minnesota’s Office of the Attorney General: https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Brochures/pubLandlordTenants.pdf

In summary, the following statutes provide that parents are liable for the acts of their children under certain circumstances: Minn. Stat. 540.18: parent is jointly & severally liable for up to $1,000 for willful, malicious acts of child who is under 18 and living with parent; but only special damages recoverable. Minn. Stat. 611A.79, subd. 3: increases limit to $5,000 for bias offenses; but parent not liable if reasonable efforts to control child to prevent conduct is undertaken. Minn Stat. 340A.90: social host liability – if knowingly or recklessly provide space and a person is injured then parent can be …

Actions “for the recovery of wages” shall be brought within 2 years,  Minn. Stat. § 541.07(5), and should be used whenever “the gravamen of the action is the breach of an employment contract.”  When did the statute begin to run?  The statute of limitations begins to run on a claim when “the cause of action accrues,”  Minn. Stat. § 541.01 (2010), which is when all the elements of the action have occurred, such that the cause of action could be brought and would survive a motion to dismiss. STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A10-0658 Court of Appeals                                                                                                          Gildea, C.J. …