Business Litigation

Thom Ellingson, PLLP handles all types of civil and business litigation matters. From complex minority shareholder disputes, to high net-worth trust and estates litigation to multi-million dollar commercial lawsuits, we have the expertise and experience to provide you with world-class representation.​ ​

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Representative Cases*​

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• Negotiated a minority shareholder’s favorable buyout from his company without costly litigation or unnecessary disruption within the business.

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• Represented a Nissan dealer in litigation against manufacturer Nissan North America. When Nissan attempted to relocate another Nissan dealership into our client’s statutory “relevant market area,” our client moved for injunctive relief and a hearing at which Nissan would be required to demonstrate good cause for the encroachment. After the trial court denied our client’s request for relief, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed in a published opinion, Wayzata Nissan, LLC v. Nissan N. Am., Inc., 865 N.W.2d 75 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015), the Minnesota Supreme Court granted review and reversed the Court of Appeals, recognizing the right of our client—and Minnesota dealers generally—to statutory protection against manufacturer overreaching. Wayzata Nissan, LLC v. Nissan N. Am., Inc., 875 N.W.2d 279 (Minn. 2016).

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•  Represented a mortgage company that brought suit for breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference after a competitor engaged in a scheme to take our client’s business, misappropriate our client’s intellectual property, and divert several dozen of our client’s employees. After summary-judgment briefing, and after our client moved to amend its complaint to add a claim for punitive damages, the matter was resolved short of trial.

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• Represented a company in a civil fraud action against a former employee who siphoned substantial funds from the company. After discovery and motions practice, we reached a settlement favorable to our client.

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