Insights

Legal Update: U.S. Bankruptcy Court Finds Tribal Gaming Payment Not Part of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Estate
In the recent decision, In re: Musel, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota held that tribal payments are not considered a property interest of a bankruptcy estate when federal law governs and the tribe expressly rejects defining the payments as ...Read More

Minnesota Peacetime Emergency Ends July 1st
Governor Walz has agreed to end the peacetime emergency on July 1st. He had planned for his executive orders to expire on August 1st. However, in negotiations with Senate Republicans, he agreed to end his emergency powers tomorrow. Two of his ...Read More

When May Someone Other Than a Mortgagor Redeem Real Estate Following a Foreclosure?
At some point in their careers, most lenders who finance borrowers with real estate collateral will see at least some of their borrowers go through a real estate foreclosure. Depending upon the nature of the real estate foreclosed upon—and the State where the foreclosure ...Read More

Minnesota Supreme Court Weighs in on Spousal Maintenance Modifications
On May 26, 2021, the Minnesota Supreme Court filed its decision in Honke v. Honke. In that case, ex-wife received post-divorce cash gifts from her parents of $500,000.00 during the time she was also receiving spousal maintenance from her ex-husband.
Ex-husband asked the trial court ...Read More

Mitigating Employer Risk Through Documentation
Documentation is one of the easiest ways for an employer to preserve evidence in a case. Ideally, employers should document every action and decision taken concerning incidents, complaints and disciplinary actions in the workplace, no matter how small the issue may seem. An employer’s ...Read More

Case Law Update: Dishonest Debtors in Settlement Negotiations
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently decided a case involving a dispute between two financial institutions that may have important impacts on how to approach settlement negotiations with defaulting borrowers going forward. The lawsuit involved Student Loan Finance Corporation (“SLFC”) which was indebted to ...Read More

The Difference an Attorney Makes in Estate Planning
Estate planning is often overlooked until it is too late. Our recent article, Where There’s a Will, There’s a…Wait, discusses the negative effects of waiting too long to plan for the future. These include increased expense, court involvement, familial fighting, and your wishes being ...Read More

Third Round of PPP Funding Open, Banks with Assets of $1 Billion or Less Start Friday, January 15, 2021
Late Wednesday, January 13th, the SBA announced that banks with $1 billion in assets or less can start making Third Round PPP loans Friday, January 15th. Banks above that threshold will be able to start Tuesday, January 19th. CDFI institutions and minority-owned institutions started ...Read More

State Court Receivership: A Powerful Creditor’s Tool
A receivership is often labeled as the state court’s version of bankruptcy, though there are many differences between the two. The device of receivership is primarily a creditor’s remedy and is typically invoked in various circumstances including the collection of a money judgment, liquidation, ...Read More