Top Rated Business Litigation Attorney in Minneapolis, MN

Honors/Awards:

• Selected to the "Top 40 Business Litigator Attorneys" list by Minnesota Law & Politics, 2008 - 2010
• Selected as a Minnesota Lawyer's "Attorney of the Year," 2009
• Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in Commercial Litigation every year since 2008
• Minnesota Business Trial Lawyer of the Year, Corporate International, 2014
• Chambers USA Rated Attorney, 2004 - 2017
• Peer Reviewed as "AV® Preeminent™ 5.0" (highest possible rating), Martindale Hubbell

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Member, Federal Bar Association  
• Member, Hennepin County Association  
• Member, Minnesota State Bar Association  

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Director, Fairview Health System, a multi-billion regional hospital system
• Director, RTP Company, a privately held multinational plastic compounding business
• Trustee, University of Minnesota Foundation  
• Trustee, Saint John’s University  
• Chairman, University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital Board  
• Trustee, University of Minnesota Medical Foundation  
• Metropolitan area Representative, Minnesota Governor’s Judicial Selection Committee, which screens and recommends individual judicial candidates for appointment by the Governor  
• Director, American Automobile Association, Minneapolis, MN  

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

• 2017 Business Law Institute - Business Litigation: Fiduciary Duty Disputes, Minnesota CLE, May 2017, 2017
• So . . . When Is A Shareholder A Shareholder . . . And When Does It Matter?, Attorney at Law Magazine, Twin Cities Edition, 2013
• Protecting Your Privately Owned Company, co-authored with Joseph W. Anthony, Point-of-Law.com, 2005
• Justice Versus Windfall: When is Value "Fair" Among Private Corporation Shareholders?, Business Law News, 1998

Verdicts/Settlements:

• Senior ExecutivesMany senior executives who have lost their jobs unfairly have retained Rich, who has recovered between $2 and $10 million multiple times in the past decade for terminated and/or squeezed-out executives.  
• Texas BioMedical Patent Recovery of $23 MillionIn an Eastern District of Texas federal court action, Sutura v. Abbott Labs, Rich recovered $23 Million for Sutura for breach of its patents by Abbott Laboratories.
• Cost of Defense Resolution in Alleged $100 Million Texas Anti-Trust LitigationRich led an Anthony Ostlund team that successfully defended and achieved dismissal of a $100 million anti-trust case pending in Texarkana, Texas.  Anthony Ostlund took over defense from one of the largest firms in America, which had recommended the client pay over $20 million to solve the case.  After key discovery and with a pending summary judgment motion, the case was solved confidentially for less than the client’s deductible on its insurance coverage.  Anthony Ostlund’s team of six lawyers efficiently replaced a team of 16 from the prior firm, and saved the client over $20 million.
• Schwans v. SchwansRich successfully defended the Trustees of the Schwans Foundation in both an $869 million federal court lawsuit and a $600 million federal estate tax case in Washington, D.C.
• Leading Appellate DecisionsRich has been lead counsel in multiple appellate cases which have made new law on critical business and corporate governance principles, including: Brenny v. The Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota, 813 N.W.2d 417 (Minn. Ct. App. 2012)Valspar Refinish, Inc. v. Gaylords, Inc., 764 N.W.2d 359 (Minn. 2009)Powell v. Anderson Corp., 660 N.W.2d 107 (Minn. 2003)Powell v. Anderson, 660 N.W.2d 107 (Minn. 2003)Gunderson v. Alliance of Computer Professionals, Inc., 628 N.W.2d 173 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001)Foy v. Klapmeier, 992 F. 2d 774 (8th Cir. 1999)Kelley v. Rudd, 1992 WL 3651 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992)Dolphin v. Johnson, 1990 WL 194991 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990)Bolander v. Bolander, 703 N.W. 2d 529 (Minn. Ct. App. 2005)  
• $73 Million Recovery in San Francisco Construction/Joint Venture ArbitrationIn a private arbitration over the alleged fraud of a property developer, Rich obtained a $73 million recovery of funds and property for the project’s financial investor.
• $10 Million Defense Order in Shareholder Breach of Fiduciary Duty CaseIn Bolander v. Bolander, Rich successfully defended company client against a $10 million claim for stock buy-out.
• Minority Shareholder Buy-OutsIn the past several years alone, Rich has recovered $63 million, $21 million, $8 million, $15 million, $14 million, $9 million, $4.5 million and $3 million – all for minority shareholders in private companies whose rights had been abused.  Rich often handles such cases on a contingent fee bases in order to permit these clients to vindicate their rights despite their adversaries use of company funds to defend themselves.
• Many Bank Officers and Directors retain Mr. OstlundFollowing the banking crisis in 2007-2008, many private banks across America and their directors and officers have been sued or threatened with suit by bank regulatory authorities.  Rich, who has represented banks and their boards/officers across the Midwest for 30 years, is currently defending many directors, officers and their banks.  In 2013, Rich successfully resolved the FDIC’s $77 million claim against 23 officers and directors of a major regional failed bank, with no personal payment to the FDIC by any director.
• $24 Million Decision in Minnesota Shareholder ActionBadzin v. Badzin.  Rich, after a multi-week court trial, obtained a $24 million buy-out decision plus financial sanctions for his family-owned company shareholder/employee client, who had been forced out of the company.
• $8 Million Loan Guarantor Defense VerdictIn Alerus v. Sanford, Rich obtained a $8 million defense verdict on behalf of three personal guarantors, when Alerus attempted to collect on a guarantee issued by Rich's client, T. Denny Sanford.
• Insurance Coverage Recoveries of $15 Million and $7.5 Million in Texas and ArizonaRepresenting a company in recovering on key person insurance coverage after the death of a CFO, Rich led litigation in Texas against American General and AIG Insurance Group, recovering $15 million upon breach of coverage and bad faith claims against the insurance carriers.  A year later, Rich recovered $7.5 million from Colonial and Traveler’s insurance upon breach of insurance coverage claims for another client in Phoenix, Arizona Federal Court.

Educational Background:

• J.D., cum laude, University of Minnesota
• B.A., cum laude, Saint John’s University