In re: Individual 35W Bridge Litigation
Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota (2010)
Total Settlement $15+ million
Key member of consortium that obtained settlement on behalf of victims from the Minneapolis 35W bridge collapse
Robinson et al. v. Ramsey County et al.
Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota (2010)
Total Settlement $15+ million
Achieved landmark success in a class action on behalf of inmates, who contracted TB while at the Ramsey County Correctional Facility. One of the most successful prosecutions of a TB outbreak against a correctional facility in United States history.
Taylor v. Minneapolis Golf Glub
Hennepin County District Court, Minnesota (2008)
Total Sttlement 8+Million
Wrongful death of six-year old girl who was seriously injured while in the kiddie pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club
Ngo v. Storlie
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2007)
Total Settlement $4.5 million
Police shooting case.
Daglish v. Keener
Superior Court of Carroll County, Georgia (2003)
Total Settlement $4.5 million
30-year-old woman, catastrophic personal injury in multi-vehicle accident
Karim El-Ghazzawy v. Berthiaume et al.
U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 708 F. Supp. 2d 874 (2010)
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, 636 F.3d 452 (2011)
Represented a local attorney against a Bloomington police officer, Pawn America, and a Pawn America employee for unlawful arrest and defamation. The District Court for the District of Minnesota (Kyle, J.) denied all defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The denial was preceded by the Court granting El-Ghazzawy’s motion to amend his complaint to seek punitive damages against the employee and vicariously the pawnshop on the defamation count. El-Ghazzawy and the pawnshop subsequently reached a confidential settlement. The defendant officer appealed, and Judge Kyle’s denial of qualified immunity was affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. This case was selected by Minnesota Law & Politics as a 2009 “Lawsuit of the Year.”
J.A. v. B.B.R.
Steele County District Court, Minnesota (2003)
Total Settlement $3.45 million
Wrongful death/personal injury; commercial truck and automobile accident
Balandin v. Eagle
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2003)
Total Settlement: $3.05 million
18 year old on LSD improperly shot twice by Apple Valley police officer; excessive deadly force
Anonymous v. Anonymous
Hennepin County District Court (2011)
Total Settlement $3 million
Represented husband and wife after wife was severely injured in a crash caused by a commercial truck. Wife’s injuries included numerous cervical neck fractures that required two months in a HALO and a multi-level fusion. The commercial truck driver was using his cell phone at the time of the crash. Further details of the suit and settlement are confidential.
Forster & D’Heilly v. S.O.D.
Hennepin County District Court (1990)
Total Settlement $2.5 Million
Two injured in outdoor advertising sign collapse
Sanville v. Scapardine, Pareek and Fleck
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin (2002)
Total Verdict $2.1 million
§ 1983 violation by prison psychologist and malpractice by psychologist and psychiatrist caused suicide of prison inmate.
Chromulak v. Anoka County
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2005)
Total Settlement $1.9 million
Prisoner injury.
Posthumus v. Brey, et al.,
Freeborn County District Court, Minnesota (2005)
Total Settlement $1.68 million
Prisoner injury.
Carlson v. Century Indemnity et al.
Carver County District Court, Minnesota
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals see Century Indemnity Co. v. Carlson, 133 F.2d 591 (8th Cir. 1998)
Total Settlement $1.2 million
Wrongful death caused by commercial truck and automobile collision found to be in interstate commerce
Mische v. Sauro, et al.
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (1994)
Total Verdict $1,050,000, including compensatory and punitive damages and attorney’s fees
Excessive force; Minnesota’s most famous police misconduct case.
Polley v. City of Minneapolis
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2004)
Total Settlement $995,000
Excessive force.
Feist v. Simonson
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2000)
Total Settlement $900,000
§1983 high speed chase violation.
Buelow v. DiIoia, et al.
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2000)
Total Settlement $800,000 (involved two plaintiffs – father/victim and daughter/victim/witness)
Excessive force case against Washington County Sheriff.
Barsch v. Siera
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2009)
Total Settlement: $695,000
Plaintiff, a young woman with a history of being victimized, was sexually assaulted by a Hubbard County Deputy. The Akeley Police Department failed to investigate the matter or even properly report the victim’s allegations. The City of Akeley settled early on in the case for $55,000 and Hubbard County, which was defending and indemnifying the deputy, settled for $640,000.
Goblirsch v. City of Lakeville
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2009)
Total Settlement $675,000
On December 26, 2006, a Lakeville police officer deployed his TASER on plaintiff as plaintiff stood on his garage roof. Officers arrived at plaintiff’s house after a domestic assault. When officers arrived, plaintiff was intoxicated and refused to comply with orders to come off the roof. Plaintiff was barefoot and coatless and the officers at the scene acknowledged that the roof was pitched and icy. After being at the scene for less than eight minutes, plaintiff was tased causing plaintiff to fall off the roof. Plaintiff landed head first on the windshield of his vehicle and suffered a traumatic brain injury with loss of taste and smell.
Martin v. Hennepin County Sheriff
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2001)
Total Settlement $552,315
Excessive force case against Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputy.
Olson v. Cottingham, et al.
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (1996)
Total Settlement $500,000
Excessive force.
Gerdes v. Meyer
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2009)
Total Settlement $475,000
Plaintiff, a 41 year old man who was on social security disability, was in a Brainerd city park after hours in June 2007. A Brainerd Police Officer was called to the park to investigate a noise complaint. The officer found the plaintiff and some of his friends leaving the park on their bicycles and decided to use his Taser to perform a custodial stop on plaintiff. The plaintiff was pedaling his bicycle out of the park when he was tased in the back and crashed his bicycle, injuring his shoulder and back, requiring multiple surgeries and hospitalizations. The defendants moved for summary judgment arguing that the officer acted as a reasonable officer would and was therefore protected by qualified immunity. The Court disagreed and the settlement followed shortly.
King v. Turner
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2007)
Total Judgment $447,000
Fifty-one year old woman suffered two wrist fractures and a dislocation when a sheriff’s deputy used excessive force on her in a bingo hall where he had come to arrest her daughter on a bench warrant.
Town v. Thelen
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2007)
Total Setttlement $365,000
Plaintiff was a stroke victim with limited comprehension and very diminished speech capabilities. He was stopped for speeding and through a series of missteps by Waite Park Police Officers, ended up with a broken rib and a collapsed lung.
Meir v. McCormick
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2007)
Five Day jury trial involving allegation of excessive force against the police chief for Chatfield, Minnesota. Plaintiff prevailed on his excessive force claim resulting in a total judgment (compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs) of $364,308.09.
Enlund v. Reynolds & City of Minneapolis (2001), U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota Total Settlement $330,000
Hagen v. Palmer, et al
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2003)
Total Settlement $327,000
Pierce v. Isaacson, Wayne and City of Minnetonka
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2002)
Total Settlement: $320,000
Kelly v. Dakota County
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2011)
Total Settlement: $315,000
Dakota County Sheriff’s Deputy slammed Kelly into a wall, causing her to suffer a concussion, abrasions to her face, and a broken leg. This is the first successful prosecution of a police brutality claim against Dakota County in over 20 years.
Madison v. Willis
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2010)
Total Judgment (based on jury verdict and Court-awarded attorney fees and costs) $296,000
23-year-old woman was struck in the face on a sidewalk in downtown Minneapolis shortly after bar close by a Minneapolis Police Officer. By all accounts, the woman had done nothing wrong and was acting peaceably. She suffered permanent injuries. The Defendant denied striking the Plaintiff and any wrongdoing; the jury disagreed.
Stockton v. Auren and Siedschlag
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2008)
Total Settlement $280,000
Plaintiff, a 57-year-old with a history of medical problems including seizures, became confused and disoriented while trying to pay his town home association dues. He ended up at the back door of the wrong unit of his town home association (in his slippers) and the woman inside called the police. The police arrived, and despite our client’s obvious disorientation, lack of aggressiveness, and frail appearance, the police threw him to the ground with so much force that he fractured his hip. The defendant officers moved for summary judgment, claiming their actions were reasonable and that they were protected by qualified immunity. The court disagreed and denied the motion. The case settled shortly thereafter.
Morris v. Saint Paul
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2011)
Total Settlement $270,000
Saint Paul police officer threw Morris, a woman, through her glass door. As a result, she sustained a severe gash to her arm, which required hundreds of stitches and surgery to repair. Settlement reached after Court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment from the bench. This settlement equals the highest amount Saint Paul has ever paid in a non-death, police brutality settlement.
Kearney v. Griffin, et al.
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2004)
Total Settlement $270,000
Police unreasonable seizure
Keller v. Olmsted County, et. al.
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2008)
Total Settlement $225,000 plus payment of over $112,000 in medical bills
Plaintiff was a pretrial detainee in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center when he suffered an ascending aortic dissection, which has a very high mortality rate. Plaintiff had obvious heart-attack symptoms, including collapsing chest pain, shortness of breath, and left arm pain. Despite these symptoms, the detention center staff failed to provide him with medical attention for over 14 hours, greatly increasing plaintiff’s pain and risk of death. Ultimately, he received treatment and made a full recovery.
Otieno v. Hansen
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2009)
Total Settlement $169,500
Plaintiffs, 3 minority young professionals (two women and a man), were in downtown Minneapolis when they were denied entry into a nightclub. The defendant police officers, after taking a cue from the doorman, directed the plaintiffs to leave the area. The plaintiffs started walking away but were followed by the defendant officers down the street. The officers harassed, roughed up, and ultimately arrested two of the plaintiffs and pushed the third to the ground so hard that she needed stitches, all without justification. The minor charges from the incident were dropped early in the prosecution. In addition to the monetary settlement, the City of Minneapolis issued a written apology to the plaintiffs for the incident and assisted in getting the criminal charges expunged.
Flores v. Allbee
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2009)
Total Settlement $110,000
Plaintiff, a 48 year old woman with numerous medical ailments was arrested on a DWI. She was arrested and transported to the Ramsey County Jail without incident. But once at the jail, and while being physically escorted to a holding cell by the defendants, Plaintiff suffered a broken and dislocated elbow requiring emergency medical treatment.
Plisner v. Sweeney, Fahey, Hanson and City of Little Canada
U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (2007)
Total Settlement (after winning partial summary judgment): $90,000
Plaintiff homeowner’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when the City fined him for not consenting to a warrantless search of his home to ensure his sump pump did not flow into the city’s sanitary sewer system.
