Lori Johnson

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Commercial Litigation Premises Liability Defamation & Media Law Appellate Practice

Lori is a skilled and accomplished attorney with decades of experience litigating a broad range of complex cases, including business disputes. Since 2002, Lori has represented clients ranging from individuals and small businesses to institutions with billions of dollars under management. Lori has successfully represented many clients in shareholder, business divorce, corporate governance, and family business disputes. Lori also represents clients in defamation cases and does a significant amount of work in the social media space. Lori is passionately committed to helping her clients solve problems and achieve their goals.

More About Lori

Education

Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota: B.A. in English and French, 1993
University of Minnesota Law School: J.D. (cum laude), 2001

Court Admissions

Minnesota
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

Honors + Distinctions

Minnesota Super Lawyer, 2024-2025
Dean’s List, all academic years
Staff member, Minnesota Law Review, University of Minnesota Law School

Representative Experience

Represented directors of a nationwide company in a contentious family business dispute resulting in her clients obtaining a near complete victory in arbitration, including a substantial award of attorneys’ fees.
Morton v. Park Christian School, et al., (U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 2019-2023). Represented survivor of a fatal car crash, a high school basketball player, who sued the school responsible for transporting him to an out-of-state tournament, in a hotly contested, emotional case. Achieved a substantial settlement after prevailing on summary judgment against the school and an individual defendant.
Greterman v. Oxbow Golf and Country Club, Inc., David Campbell, et al. (Cass County, North Dakota 2019-2020). Trial team member who represented Aaron Greterman in his slander case against a country club and some of its members, resulting in a $2 million verdict for Greterman, the largest award for slander ever made by a North Dakota jury.
Represented directors and officers of an equipment leasing company in complicated family business litigation achieving an excellent settlement outcome for her clients, including their sole control and ultimate ownership of the company.
Finn v. Moyes (U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 2014-2017). Represented Jerry Moyes, the founder of Swift Transportation in a case brought by Patrick Finn, as Receiver for First United Funding and Corey Johnston. Johnston ran a Ponzi scheme through his business in which he defrauded banks by overselling participations in loans. After his criminal conviction, the Receiver sued Moyes, a borrower who repaid his loans in full, for claims of fraudulent transfer, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, among others. After prevailing on almost every issue in the parties’ cross-summary judgment motions, Moyes settled for a fraction of the original damages claimed by the Receiver. See Finn v. Moyes, No. 14–1293 (JRT/TNL),2017 WL 1194192 (D. Minn. March 30, 2017).
Scarlett v. White (U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 2016-2017). Represented majority shareholders in wine industry shareholder case in which a former shareholder alleged breach of fiduciary duty and attempted to force litigation in Minnesota, his state of residence. Prevailed on motion to transfer case to California to be consolidated with prior litigation there based on “first-filed” rule of federal court procedures.
Petters Bankruptcy Proceedings – Fraud and Claw-Back Claims (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Minnesota, 2010-2016). Represented the trustees and receiver in adversary proceedings arising from one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever, a multi-billion-dollar scheme operated by Tom Petters. The adversary cases included claims against many investors who profited from the scheme, as well as fraud claims against a primary lender to the Petters organization.
Defended a registered representative against claims of breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets and conversion, and brought a successful counterclaim for defamation, conversion, unjust enrichment and other claims against the broker-dealer, reaching a substantial seven-figure settlement for our client just prior to the FINRA arbitration.
Represented a physician in a shareholder dispute between deadlocked partners in a medical practice, settling the matter prior to arbitration with our client gaining complete control of the corporation.
In re AOL Time Warner, Inc. Securities and ERISA Litigation, MDL No. 1500, No. 02 Civ. 5575 (SWK) (U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York 2002 -2007). Represented the Minnesota State Board of Investment and a class of investors in a securities fraud class action against AOL Time Warner that ultimately settled for $2.65 billion on behalf of defrauded shareholders.

Representative Clients

Employee and Equipment Leasing Companies
Financial Advisors
National Retailers
CEO of Fortune 1000 Company
Bankruptcy Trustees and Receiver

Civic Involvement

Member of Minnesota Women Lawyers, Partner Leadership Council 2018-2019
Volunteer Attorney, The Advocates for Human Rights
Volunteer Attorney, Federal Bar Association’s Pro Se Project

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