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Client Win: Greene Espel Client Wins Appellate Victory

The city-built Capital City Plaza Parking Ramp in downtown St. Paul has been a disappointment to bondholders for years. It also has been a disappointment to Greene Espel’s client, John Rupp, the developer who originally sold the property to the St. Paul Port Authority and retained a note and option to repurchase the property. . 

Last year, Wells Fargo, as trustee, got approval from a district court to sell the property, without requiring the new buyer to assume Rupp’s note or giving him the opportunity to exercise his repurchase option. The district court held that the transaction as structured did not trigger those rights. On October 28, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed and remanded, holding that Rupp was entitled to explore the circumstances surrounding the proposed transaction and the meaning of the original agreements in discovery.  The case represents a reaffirmation of the principle in Minnesota that cases should rarely be dismissed before a litigant has been afforded his or her day in court. John Orenstein and Ginny McCalmont represented the client. The case represents a reaffirmation of the principle in Minnesota that cases should rarely be dismissed before a litigant has been afforded his or her day in court. Additional media coverage on the case can be found here

John Orenstein represents hedge funds, individuals, and businesses in a wide variety of litigation. His specialties include securities, regulatory compliance, employment law, and professional liability.  As a litigator of fraud cases and an advocate for bondholder rights, he has been practicing for over 30 years and brings his extensive experience to current clients.

Ginny McCalmont helps public and private-sector clients craft effective strategies that resolve disputes. To do so, she draws on her extensive experience with the court system through clerkships with federal trial and appellate judges.

Many of the firm’s appellate attorneys are former judicial clerks and hold leadership positions with the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Council, the Eighth Circuit Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association. Our government and constitutional litigation attorneys regularly evaluate and litigate the constitutionality of state laws and local regulations.

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