On December 11, 2012, an Anoka County District Judge awarded my clients Ed Fields and Sons, Inc., $73,938.75 in sanctions during litigation I commenced against the Defendant, 1st Regents Bank, for discovery misconduct. (December 11, 2012 Order, James E. Fields, et al. v. Anthony Emmerich, et al., Court File No. 02-CV-11-5482) The litigation involved a multimillion dollar transaction and included causes of action such as fraud and conspiracy claims. I had sent discovery requests to 1st Regents asking for all emails related to the transaction at issue. The Bank responded that they had no emails. I pursued the issue with..
City Employees and Off-Duty Conduct Webinar
Our attorney, Scott Lepak, presented a free webinar hosted by the League of Minnesota Cities. This webinar titled, “City Employees and Off-Duty Conduct,” took place on Thursday, July 12th. You can view the full webinar here: Click here to download the full transcript (PDF) Click here to download the presentation slides (PDF) Scott Lepak is a frequent lecturer on labor and employment law topics in Minnesota and in this webinar he provides some guidance when off-duty conduct is illegal, unethical, or harms the reputation of the city. It’s often hard to know whether..
Medical Insurance Issues: Denial of Claims
As a former nurse and now a lawyer for over 23 years, I become a little disheartened when I see what I believe are legitimate insurance claims being denied by medical insurance providers. I understand they need to contain costs and ensure that only tests and treatments that are necessary are covered, so that the ever-escalating insurance premiums do not continue to overburden individuals and especially small businesses. But we pay our premiums so that we have the coverage we need, and insurance companies need to be fair. The reality is that the insurance policy is a legal contract between..
Employee Privacy in a Digital Age
Electricity has been a benefit and a curse to the legal profession. Before the invention of the fax machine, lawyers could write letters and not have to worry about the matter for a couple of days while it was being delivered. The first fax I received was 76 pages on thermal paper that didn’t cut off to page sizes and scrolled onto the floor as one page over 50 feet long. I knew at that moment that technology was going to be a mixed bag. Clients now call and leave voice messages telling me that they sent me an email..
Confronting Employees with Bad Attitudes
By Bradley A. Kletscher In Brief Newsletter Winter 2006 Every employer has had an employee with a poor attitude. It may be the employee who gives fellow employees the cold shoulder. Or it may be an employee who tells you he will follow instructions and then turns around and does what he wants. It might even be an employee who is rude to customers who are asking for help. While each situation is different, the common theme is that the employee has a bad attitude. As hard as it is from a personal level to confront employees with a bad..
