Category: Commercial Litigation

Scott Lepak to Present at Upcoming Minnesota CLE Conference

February 13, 2014  |  Barna, Guzy & Steffen, Ltd.

BGS Government & Employment Law Attorney Scott Lepak will be presenting at an upcoming Minnesota CLE Conference. The conference, titled Public Sector Labor & Employment Law will take place on Friday, February 28th at Minnesota CLE Conference Center, 600 Nicollet Mall, Suite 370, Third Floor City Center, Minneapolis. The event is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. (with a continental breakfast) to 4:30 p.m. There will be lunch break from Noon-1p.m. (lunch is not included with the seminar). Scott will speak to attendees at 9:45 a.m. regarding The Minnesota Whistleblower Act Amendments. He is co-presenting with attorney Cristina Parra of Nichols Kaster, PLLP; Minneapolis. For more information or to register for this event, please visit 2014 Public Sector Labor & Employment Law Seminar Details

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Retaliation for Mobile Home Park Tenants Demanding Their Rights

February 11, 2014  |  Joan M. Quade

Mobile homes, or manufactured homes, are abundant across the United States. As of 2008, 3.7{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of the total housing in Minnesota was made up of manufactured homes. U.S. Census Bureau, 2008 American Community Survey; Tab. B25024. In 2009, the Metropolitan Council, a Minnesota regional governmental and metropolitan planning agency, published its first report since 1988 with regard to Manufactured Home Parks in the Twin Cities. Metropolitan Council, MANUFACTURED HOME PARKS IN THE TWIN CITIES, January 2009. According to the report, manufactured homes make up 1.4{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of all homes in the seven-county metro area. Anoka County alone has twenty-four (24) parks, which is more than one in four of the metro area’s total manufactured home parks. Mobile Home Owner Concerns Many choose to live in a manufactured home because of the advantages; for example, manufactured homes are more affordable than conventional homes and zoning restrictions in rural communicates, where manufactured homes are common, are often less restrictive than in urban areas. Scommegna, Paola, Study Finds U.S. Manufactured-Home Owners Face ‘Quasi-Homelessness.’ However, most manufactured home owners don’t own the land on which their home rests. In effect, these homeowners are “landless,” leaving them at the mercy of the manufactured home park landlord. The control and security normally associated with a conventional home is absent for…

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Water Well Regulation in Minnesota

February 6, 2014  |  Joan M. Quade

The majority of Minnesotans rely on groundwater as their primary source of drinking water, and more than one million Minnesotans have private wells. In Anoka County, 30{a0c01d20c42349884e67ff80c137866b0a9fe47aaae8f8a86a605a369ae487c3} of residents are served with water through a private well on their property. In order to ensure public safety and the protection of precious water resources for the large number of Minnesotans who rely on well water, the Minnesota Department of Health (“MDH”) is tasked with the regulation of the construction of new wells, private or public, as well as the inspection of all existing wells and the sealing of unused wells. Understanding the rules which govern water wells in Minnesota is important not only to ensure that your well is up to code and your water is clean and safe, but also to provide guidance when it is time to sell your home. Minnesota Rules chapter 4725, otherwise known as the Minnesota Well Code, and Minnesota Statutes Chapter 103I govern the requirements and restrictions regarding wells in Minnesota. Normally, the MDH monitors wells statewide, however, some cities and counties have assumed some of the responsibility for regulating well regulation themselves, such as the City of Bloomington, the City of Minneapolis, and several counties including Blue Earth, Dakota, Goodhue, LeSueur, Olmstead, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona. Anoka…

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