Most leases require the tenant to pay the security deposit and the first month of rent at signing, or before moving in. But what happens if the tenants move in without paying? So do you have to pay the first month's rent and deposit before moving in? In most cases,...
Strong Advocacy | Personalized Service | Real Solutions
Burns & Hansen
Boston Scientific sued for settling patent issues with St. Judes
A patent-licensing company has sued Boston Scientific Corp. over a reported secret settlement agreement Boston Scientific reached with Twin Cities-based St. Jude Medical Inc. According to a news report, the patent firm Mirowski Family Ventures - owned by the family of...
Is your unpaid internship program legal in Minnesota?
It's hard to believe it with all of this gloomy weather, but summer has almost arrived in Minnesota. For a great number of college students, this means that it is time to begin a summer internship. Many Twin Cities employers offer internships as a way to provide an...
9-year battle over control of family business comes to end
Building a successful family business and passing it down to one's heirs is the dream of many Minnesotans. Unfortunately, even those who are successful in step one of this process can fail to prepare for the complications that might arise in step two. When a business...
Entrepreneurs and the role of passion in business formation
In American public life, politicians who agree on little else both acknowledge that the role of entrepreneurs and small businesses is crucial to us all. For the U.S. to regain its economic vitality - and create jobs that will help heal the scars of the Great Recession...
Trespass and Nuisance: Minnesota Supreme Court Clarifies Law
When most of us think of a trespass, we think of a person going onto someone else's property. But is it possible to have a trespass involving a chemical substance that strays from one landowners' land to another's? The issue was raised in a recent Minnesota case...
Tax Break for Mortgage Forgiveness Scheduled to Expire at Year’s End
The housing meltdown has exacted severe pain in the Twin Cities and across the country. Though the federal government has tried to respond with some relief, those steps have not always been enough for homeowners struggling to keep their homes out of foreclosure....
Minnesota Rental Caps Under Scrutiny in Winona Case
How far can local governments go in controlling the number of housing units that are devoted to rental housing? In the last five or six, years, the issue has kept coming up - and not only in college towns. The most recent instance was in not in a college town but in a...
Unemployment Benefits and Progressive Discipline
In a recent decision, the Minnesota Supreme Court clarified that a former employee can be denied eligibility for unemployment benefits if he engaged in "employment misconduct," even where the employer terminated the former employee in violation of its own progressive...
Barnes Case Shows Importance of Detail in Minnesota Health Care Directives
The recent news coverage of the fight over who should make medical care decisions for Al Barnes is a reminder of the need for careful estate planning, generally, and particularly in drafting health care directives. Minnesota law gives significant weight to written...