Mike Stinson

Individual Plaintiff-Side Litigation

• Achieved a $14.5 million trial verdict for his client as lead counsel pursuing fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and aiding-and-abetting claims, which was later affirmed following Mike’s successful argument before the Minnesota Court of Appeals.Bren Road LLC v. Talon OP, LP, et al., No. A23-0248, 2024 Minn. App. Unpub. LEXIS 133 (Minn. Ct. App. Feb. 12, 2024).
• Achieved a $10 million+ recovery for his client as lead counsel pursuing shareholder oppression and wrongful termination claims.
• Achieved a $5.25 million class action settlement as lead class counsel for a certified class of owner-operator drivers in resolution of underpayment claims, comprising “greater than 96% of the underpayment or compensatory damages alleged to have been incurred by the Class as a whole,” and resulting “in an average net distribution from the Residual Settlement Fund of more than $15,000 to each Class Member after fees, expenses, service awards, and costs of an administration.”Order Granting Final Approval of Rule 23 Class Action Settlement at 9, Sanderson et al. v. JMS Trucking, Inc., No. 1:22-cv-00059-LTS-KEM (N.D. Iowa Sept. 18, 2023), ECF No. 61.
• Achieved a $4.5 million recovery for his client as lead counsel pursuing negligence claims resulting from a motor vehicle accident that caused Mike’s client to suffer a traumatic brain injury.
• Achieved a $1 million recovery for client as co-lead counsel pursuing direct Section 1983 (or so-called “Monell”) claims against the City of Minneapolis after successfully arguing against the City’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss – the first instance in which a plaintiff was found to have adequately stated a plausible Monell claim for direct liability against the City.See Order, McDonough v. Toles et al., No. 19-cv-2238 (PJS/TNL) (D. Minn. Aug. 4, 2020), ECF No. 59.

Securities and Financial Services Litigation

• U.S. Bank National Association v. Various Defendants:Represented U.S. Bank in pursuing breach of contract claims against automobile dealers around the United States, typically arising from dealer’s failure to repurchase a faulty or defective retail installment sales contract previously sold to U.S. Bank.
• Various Plaintiffs v. Credit Acceptance Corp.:Represented Credit Acceptance Corporation in lawsuits involving claims asserted under various state and federal consumer protection statutes, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and Section 362 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
• Represented large mortgage loan servicer in opposing motion to certify a nationwide class of mortgagors alleging breach of contract.  Smith v. U.S. Bank National Association, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24570 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 22, 2017).  
• Represented officers and directors of large national banking corporation in shareholder derivative suit and authored successful Rule 12(b)(6) motion resulting in dismissal of the case.  Iron Workers Mid-South Pension Fund v. Davis, 93 F.3d 1092 (D. Minn. 2015).
• Represented banking client and argued successful summary judgment motion resulting in dismissal of a class action lawsuit asserted under the FHA’s pre-foreclosure “face-to-face meeting” regulation. Order, Peralta v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n., CA No. 17-263JJM (D. R.I., Apr. 17, 2018), ECF No. 24.    
• Mike has successfully represented banking clients in class action lawsuits and civil enforcement actions arising from a Ponzi-scheme or other wrong perpetrated by a depositor, including actions asserting claims under the Uniform Fiduciaries Act or aiding-and-abetting theories of liability.
• Mike has also successfully represented loan-servicer clients in defending against class claims asserting various theories of liability arising under federal regulation or the subject note and mortgage instruments.

General Commercial Litigation

• Represented client in pursuing claims against pharmaceutical company for repudiating a development agreement between the parties. Sinotau Pharm. Group v. Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., 211 F. Supp. 3d 375 (D. Mass. 2016).
• Achieved complete defense verdict for client following a 7-day jury trial in action brought by former employee asserting “whistleblower” and wrongful termination claims.
• Successfully represented financial advisory client in action brought against former employee-advisors and competitor firm for breaching the non-compete and non-solicit provisions of their employment agreements and for tortiously interfering with the same.
• Mike has successfully defended multiple clients affiliated with a tribal lending business against claims brought under RICO and various state and federal lending laws, including in actions ultimately dismissed based on principles of tribal sovereign immunity.

General Trial Experience

• Mike has successfully litigated numerous cases to verdict through bench and jury trials as well arbitration. 
• For three months in 2015, Mike served as a visiting attorney with the Minneapolis City Attorneys’ Office where he prosecuted misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor criminal cases for the purpose of gaining practical jury trial experience.