FEBRUARY 15, 2024 – (Cont.) Eric Magnuson turned out to be “A Gentleman in Minneapolis.” He was perfectly civil and respectful, and if I had “baby lawyer” written all over me, he never treated me as one. After I’d served my summary judgment papers, he even asked if there was any room for settlement. My client’s response was a steadfast “No,” despite my express caution that given the dearth of clearcut law the case could go either way.
The summary judgment hearing was brief: Eric M. vs. Eric N.[1] Two weeks later the judge ruled—in favor of Eric N. Again, Eric M. broached settlement, and Eric N’s client said “No.” Eric M. filed an appeal. We submitted our briefs and waited for the hearing date. The closer it came, the more nervous I grew. I felt like a rookie pitcher for the Twins called up late in the season scheduled to face off against Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers in the World Series.
Except it wasn’t the World Series. It was an exhibition game in a whole new league.
It was at about this time that the new Minnesota Court of Appeals had just opened for business. It didn’t yet have permanent chambers and operated out of short-term rental space in the swanky new Amhoist Tower down the street from Briggs & Morgan. Our case was among the very first to be filed and heard. (Prior to this time state district court cases were appealed directly to the Minnesota Supreme Court.) The hearing room was comfortably appointed but lacked the history and impressive architectural adornments of the Supreme Court chambers up at the capitol designed by Cass Gilbert or even any of the richly paneled courtrooms in the Art Deco Ramsey County Courthouse between the Amhoist Tower and the Art Deco First National Bank Building, home of Briggs & Morgan.
The less intimidating surroundings of the makeshift Court of Appeals hearing room put me at ease. Each of the pitchers—Eric M and Eric N—threw fast balls straight up the middle, but the case law gave the latter a slightly wider strike zone. The other Eric tried a curve ball based on a Michigan case (persuasive authority) that was remarkably similar to ours: the injured party (driver) was seated behind the wheel of his parked car—engine running—when a random gunman approached. The driver suddenly shifted and accelerated in reverse to escape, but the gunman shot him. The court in that case denied coverage. In oral argument I split a very fine hair between that case, in which the causal relationship between the injury and the vehicle was more attenuated than in ours, wherein the gunman had wanted, needed, and in the end, did, in fact, use the subject van as a get-away vehicle.
Given that our case was one of the first on the docket of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, we received an early decision: a win for the rookie! The next stop for Eric Magnuson’s client would’ve been an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Before proceeding up the appellate ladder, however, Eric again broached settlement. This time, in the face of advancing legal fees, my client agreed that a sum certain in hand was a better bet than an uncertain amount—and possibly none—in the future.
For Eric M., the case was closed. He would turn to his many other pending insurance defense cases. For me, however, the Court of Appeals decision assumed continuing vitality.
Because of its unusual facts, the case was picked up by “ALR 4th”—(“American Law Reports – 4th Edition), a reporter series in impressively bound volumes that included only select cases from around the country. ALR was produced by Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, a long-time competitor of West Publishing before West acquired it. At the time the volume with my case came out, I received an elegantly bound commemorative copy of my “murder case . . .”
. . . “The ultimate redemption of Vladimir Horowitz,” however, occurred over a number of subsequent months. It blossomed as lawyers from around the country tracked me down and called to consult with me about no-fault insurance. I’ll never forget the attorney who described his particular case, then asked, “As an insurance law expert, can you give me any insights about my situation?”
I didn’t let on that I’d flunked insurance law.
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© 2024 by Eric Nilsson
[1]Twenty years later I’d have a case against the City of Minneapolis in which case the assistant city attorney was one “Erik Nilssen.” Thus during our day in court it was “Eric Nilsson vs. Erik Nilssen.”
