News

The Eighth Circuit affirmed the United States District Court of Minnesota’s denial of class certification in Orduno v. Pietrzak for a proposed class of individuals whose motor vehicle records were accessed impermissibly. The Circuit Court agreed, “the district court correctly observed that class members would ‘need to present evidence of the circumstances under which their particular information was accessed’ to address whether Pietrzak’s purpose in searching the database was impermissible. The circumstances of each obtainment will vary from class member to class member, so the court property concluded that ‘common questions’ would not predominate over individual determinations.”
The Court also affirmed the district court’s holding the City of Dayton was not directly liable for impermissible accesses. The Court further upheld the district court’s evidentiary decisions at trial, excluding evidence of unrelated accesses and the City’s response. Significantly, the Eighth Circuit upheld the district court’s 60% reduction of attorney’s fees, based on overstaffing, excessive billing, and limited success at trial. Susan Tindal and Stephanie Angolkar represented the City of Dayton and Pietrzak.

Susan Tindal presented at the June 27, 2019 City Attorney Legislative update on “Hot Topics in Employment Law.” Employment investigations and whistleblower claims were among the topics discussed.

Susan Tindal and Stephanie Angolkar presented at the MDLA Deposition Academy on February 15, 2019. Susan offered her expertise on deposition objections including how to make them and how to respond to them. Stephanie presented on preparing for and defending Rule 30(b)(6) depositions.

Susan Tindal presented at the April 19, 2018 Minnesota Association of Townships Town Review. Susan presented on employment topics in relation to the Open Meeting Law.

On April 27, 2018, Susan Tindal presented on Data Practices: Lessons Learned to County Attorneys, County Administrators, and Human Resources Personnel at a seminar sponsored by the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust and Minnesota County Attorneys Association.

Paul Reuvers and Susan Tindal presented at the February 9, 2018 City Attorney Conference on First Amendment Issues in Cities. Topics covered included maintaining order at public meetings, First Amendment rights and public employees, and the First Amendment and zoning enforcement.

Jon K. Iverson and Paul D. Reuvers were named again in this year’s Super Lawyers lists. These lists are exclusive, naming no more than 5 percent of attorneys in Minnesota to Super Lawyers. The selections are made through peer nominations, independent research, and evaluations from a highly credentialed panel of attorneys. Stephanie A. Angolkar was named to this year’s Rising Stars list.

Jon K. Iverson and Paul D. Reuvers were named again in this year’s Super Lawyers lists. These lists are exclusive, naming no more than 5 percent of attorneys in Minnesota to Super Lawyers. The selections are made through peer nominations, independent research, and evaluations from a highly credentialed panel of attorneys.