Saliterman & Siefferman and two other local law firms recently filed suit in Federal District Court for the District of Minnesota on behalf of six advertisers of the Minneapolis Star Tribune Company representing the interests of thousands of other business advertisers in a class action lawsuit, claiming that the newspaper overstated its circulation numbers in order to drive up advertising rates and overcharge customers.

In the Complaint, the Plaintiffs allege that the Star Tribune manipulated its circulation volume in several ways, including:
Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages to be paid to the prospective class for the overpayments. It is expected that the damages may be in the tens of millions of dollars. For further information, please contact Boris Parker.

On April 13, 2005, our law firm had the honor of a visit by Richard Fairbanks, former Ambassador at large under President Reagan, as he traveled the country to promote Layalina Productions, Inc., a non-profit corporation he founded. Richard Fairbanks, a law school friend of Dick Saliterman, was also the chief U.S. negotiator for the Middle East peace process, assistant secretary of state for congressional relations, and is currently a counselor and trustee to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Layalina develops and produces informational and entertaining Arabic-language television programming to help bridge the divide between the Arab World and the United States by fostering cultural, educational, and professional dialogues through cross-cultural television programming. Further information about Layalina Productions, Inc. can be found at www.layalina.tv.

In December, 2004, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in favor of a client of the firm in the case of Dyrdal v. Golden Nuggets. Golden Nuggets owned farmland that it leased to the Dyrdals, using a standard farm lease with a right of first refusal. When Golden Nuggets wanted to sell the property to a third party, it gave the Dyrdals a copy of the proposed purchase agreement. The Supreme Court ruled that although there were some terms in the agreement that were unclear, the Dyrdals had the obligation to investigate the unclear terms, and Golden Nuggets acted appropriately in selling the property to the third party.

In the November 8, 2004 edition of the Star Tribune, Matt Armbrecht was mentioned in connection with the case of his client, Mohammed Haider. The article, "Caught in the Details of Immigration Law," describes Mr. Armbrecht's efforts to prevent the deportation of Mr. Haider to Bangladesh. Notwithstanding his marriage to a U.S. Citizen, Mr. Haider was improperly put into removal proceedings and ordered deported in absentia. After Mr. Haider spent ten months in prison awaiting deportation, Mr. Armbrecht and Tim Maher secured his release, pending a final determination of his case in court.

In the last year, our attorneys have presented materials at several legal education seminars.

Tim Maher presented materials on mortgage and tenant defaults at a seminar entitled Real Estate Lending Requirements and Loan Documentation in Minnesota.

Dick Saliterman and Tim Maher presented materials on remedies for commercial and residential landlords and tenants, as well as a presentation on lease renewals in a seminar entitled Commercial and Residential Evictions and Collecting Overdue Rent.

Jurek Guzior, Matt Armbrecht, and Boris Parker instructed immigration lawyers on the processes involved in obtaining work visas for foreign workers, along with visas for non-immigrants in a seminar entitled Business Immigration Law in Minnesota. Their presentation, included a segment by an Immigration attorney from the Department of Homeland Security. The firm was honored to be the only private law firm to co-present the seminar with a representative of the U.S. government.