January 20, 2020 by Anna M. Koch

(Note: this content was originally prepared for the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law E-Newsletter, Vol. 32) Introduction Several notable decisions in Minnesota state and federal courts regarding restrictive covenants and employment agreements were issued in 2019 and the overall trend continues to be increasing difficulty for plaintiffs to obtain injunctive relief or […]

January 14, 2020 by Bryan R. Battina

Can a non-physician own all or part of a for-profit company that employs doctors to provide medical care in Minnesota?  Pursuant to Minnesota’s corporate practice of medicine doctrine (“CPMD”) the answer is “no.”  This legal doctrine is not found in a statute, regulation or rule.  It comes from the common law of decisions by Minnesota […]

January 2, 2020 by Nathan R. Snyder

The Federal Age Limit to Purchase Tobacco Products, Cigarettes Increased to 21: Effective Immediately On December 20, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), Public Law 116-94, which raises the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products from 18 to 21.  The new […]

December 30, 2019 by V. John Ella

The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that a corporate officer may be personally liable for a defamatory statement made by the corporation where he allegedly “participated” in the publication of the statement. DeRosa v. McKenzie, 936 N.W.2d 342 (Minn. 2019).  The plaintiff, William DeRosa, was appointed to the board of directors of Dakota Plains Holdings, […]

December 15, 2019 by Anna M. Koch

The Minnesota Court of Appeals, in Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA Inc. v. Galioto, A19-0175, 2019 WL 4409414 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 16, 2019), determined that a restrictive covenant ancillary to the defendant-employee’s offer of new employment did not require independent consideration, despite being retroactively dated. The Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s grant […]

November 26, 2019 by V. John Ella

The increasing use of non-compete agreements is choking the hiring process for many companies. But employers recruiting an otherwise perfect job candidate who is subject to a non-compete should not panic.  Nor should the employer simply ignore the non-compete. Employers need to work calmly through the situation.  Anecdotal evidence suggests that roughly nine out of […]

October 13, 2019 by Bryan R. Battina

Arbitration is intended to avoid traditional courtroom experiences. At times, however, courts become involved if parties must be compelled into the arbitration process.  At other times, courts become involved to confirm an arbitration award after the arbitration process has concluded.  A pair of recent decisions from U.S. District Court of Minnesota help to clarify the […]

September 29, 2019 by Trepanier MacGillis Battina P.A.

In McGuire v. Bowlin, — N.W.2d — (Minn. 2019), the Minnesota Supreme Court decided that Nathan C. McGuire, a former head coach of the girl’s basketball program at Woodbury High School, was not a “public figure” for purposes of determining the standard for a defamation claim he asserted against certain parents of players on the […]

April 2, 2019 by V. John Ella

The Minnesota Supreme Court issued two decisions in 2019 interpreting the scope of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”) as to protections against discrimination based on an employee’s disability.  Together, the two rulings reinforce the idea that employers in Minnesota need to be both thoughtful and careful when responding to an employee’s request for an […]