State's federal courts loaded with cases
We live in a litigious state. And it's getting more so.
In the past five years the number of cases filed in federal court here has just about doubled to 5,320. The Minnesota federal court is No. 2 of 94 districts in weighted caseload per federal judge, according to federal government reports.
Why is that?
Chief District Judge James Rosenbaum says the high concentration of highly technical companies such as Medtronic, St. Jude Medical and 3M Co. in Minnesota begets many patent lawsuits. The government statistics give more weight to intellectual property cases because they are complex and often take longer to try.
