Special assessments are used to fund all manner of local improvement projects, including road, sewer, and water improvements.  Any private landowner—residential, commercial, and even the religious—may someday receive a notice advising of a contemplated assessment against their property.  A special assessment notice is not something to be ignored.  If left unpaid, a special assessment ultimately becomes a lien against the property that may considerably drag down the land’s marketability.  Additionally, special assessments may carry significant…

The state of retail in Minnesota and around the country is a huge question-mark.  The obvious effect of the ongoing COVID restrictions has delivered an unwelcome shock to the operations of even the very best brick and mortar retailers. Nobody can say with confidence when the cloud of uncertainty around COVID and the restrictions on store operations will be lifted (or, more importantly, when customers will feel safe walking into a crowded store).  The pandemic…

COVID-19 and the recent political unrest have come with implications that are either direct or consequential to the insurance market.  Many businesses looking to renew long-standing commercial insurance policies are finding either increased premiums or a refusal of certain excess carriers to extend the same policy limits.  This has caused many businesses to either shop their insurance program to new carriers altogether or at least to add carriers to their excess insurance tower.  Some policyholders…

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most employers were reluctant to allow employees to work from home on a continuous basis.  Many companies prohibited all teleworking or allowed employees only to work remotely when recovering from an illness or when required as a reasonable accommodation.  When COVID-19 hit, many employees began working remotely and it appears that working from home is now, for many employees, a permanent situation.  I, myself, have seen the advantages of working from…