Michael R. Moline
Areas of Practice: Construction Litigation, Insurance Coverage, Litigation, Products Liability, Professional Liability
Office Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota / Hudson, Wisconsin
Direct: 612.336.9354 / Email: mmoline@lommen.com
Michael R. Moline / Biography
Michael Moline has a national practice handling construction litigation claims for product manufacturers, insurers, and property owners. He also provides litigation and transactional legal services to business owners, property developers, construction professionals, product manufacturers, product distributors and small businesses. Mike concentrates in the areas of:
- Construction law and construction litigation
- Property development and land use planning
- Zoning, permitting, and variances
- Property damage insurance claims and insurance appraisals
- Insurance coverage disputes
- Commercial arbitration
- Product manufacturer’s liability
- Product distribution and pass-through liability
- Property boundary disputes
Mike has defended construction litigation claims throughout the upper Midwest, east coast, and Florida. He has tried more than 50 jury trials to a conclusion, argued hundreds of binding arbitrations and handled more than a dozen appeals. Mike’s property insurance appraisal experience includes hail damage insurance claims, fire insurance claims, storm damage insurance claims, and wind damage insurance claims.
Mike’s recent successes include:
- Successfully represented Minneapolis’ largest parking ramp operator in the Minnesota Supreme Court
- Obtained a $1 million award for a commercial client in a property boundary dispute
- Successfully represented a property owner before the Minnesota Supreme Court in a case of first impression, defining total loss in insurance appraisals
- Obtained a complete defense verdict in a 42 day, $16 million product liability/construction defect trial in Palm Beach County, Florida
- Obtained a directed verdict in a $10 million product liability/construction defect trial
- Obtained a $900,000 insurance appraisal award on behalf of a developer involving a first-party insurance claim for hail damage to a townhouse development
- Successfully defended the world’s largest manufacturer of discrete electrical components in a product liability claim involving failed electronic electrical power meters; obtained defense verdict in a federal summary jury trial following a $3 million demand
- Obtained a defense decision in a multimillion dollar product liability/construction defect trial in Miami-Dade County
Mike is certified as a civil trial specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association and is board certified as a civil trial advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He is listed as a Minnesota Super Lawyer and is rated Distinguished™ for high professional achievement by Martindale-Hubbell.
Leadership + Activities
- Minnesota State Bar Association (including Hennepin County Bar Association)
- Minnesota Association for Justice
- Minnesota Multi Housing Association
- Minnesota Academy of Civil Trial Specialists
Experience
- Court Park Company v. Hennepin County, 907 N.W.2d 641 (Minn. 2018)
- Dakota Style Foods v Sunopta Grains and Foods, 329 F.Supp.3d (D. SD. 2018)
- In re Minnwest Bank Litigation, 873 N.W.2d 135 (Minn. Ct. App. 2015)
- Auto-Owners Insurance v. Second Chance Investments, 827 N.W.2d 766 (Minn. 2013)
- Cannon Technologies v. Sensus Metering Systems, 734 F.Supp.2d (D. Minn. 2010)
- Vlahos v. R & I Construction, 676 N.W.2d 672 (Minn. 2004)
- Reiter v. Honeywell, 104 F.3d 1071 (8th Cir. 1997)
- State v. Holmberg, 527 N.W.2d 100 (Minn. Ct. App. 1995)
- State v. Peterson, 533 N.W.2d 87 (Minn. Ct. App. 1995)
- Schibursky v. IBM, 820 F.Supp. 1169 (D.Minn. 1993)
Presentations
- “Legal Roles in Construction Law,” Minnesota State Bar Association Construction Law Section, January 2019
- “Construction Litigation: Lessons from the Trenches Part II,” Minnesota Construction Association, June 2018
- “Bad-Faith Claims and Its Impact on Insurance Companies,” The Knowledge Group, October 2017
- “Strategies to Perfect, Present and Preserve Appraisal Awards After Quade,” Premier Midwest Construction Defect & Dispute Conference, October 2016
- “IOU an EUO?!” Midwinter Seminar, Minnesota Association for Justice, February 2015
- “Protecting Our Assets: Best Practices for Administering the Cobell Settlement – Top 10 Lessons Learned,” Native Asset Building Summit, November 2014
Published Articles
- “Rule changes for homeowner associations,” Minnesota Lawyer, September 2017
Education
- University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, B.S., 1988
- Hamline University School of Law, J.D., 1991
- Harvard University Extension School, Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies, 2023
Bar Admissions
- Minnesota, 1992
- Wisconsin, 1992
- U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 1992
- U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1998
Awards + Certifications
News + Articles
Bad-Faith Claims and Its Impact on Insurance Companies
Mike Moline spoke at a webinar, Bad-Faith Claims and Its Impact on Insurance Companies, on October 19, 2017 presented by the Knowledge Group. Mike spoke with Aaron French and Nelson Bellido on topics such as "Bad Faith Set-Up - A Legal Primer," "Mechanics of Set-Up...
Resolving Property Damage Insurance Claims
This year has again brought us countless hail and extreme weather events. In fact, only Texas has more hail claims per year than Minnesota. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that where there is property damage, insurance claims and disputes soon follow. Fortunately,...
Strategies to Perfect, Present and Preserve Appraisal Awards After Quade
Mike Moline spoke on October 16, 2015 at the Premier Midwest Construction Defect & Dispute Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center on "Strategies to Perfect, Present and Preserve Appraisal Awards After Quade."
The Unexpected Oil Spill
Most businesses assume that if they don’t handle hazardous materials they have little risk for toxic waste spills. But as longtime Lommen Abdo client Dennis Diaz of BGD Companies found, an environmental disaster can strike any time. Even when the spill is not your...
New Twist on an Old Scam
Lawyers are used to taking urgent calls from clients requesting immediate assistance on important matters. But when the client calls to report that there is a warrant out for her arrest, the sense of urgency rises to a new level. This is the situation that confronted...
IOU an EUO?!
Mike Moline spoke on February 21, 2015 at the Minnesota Association for Justice's Midwinter Seminar. Mike discussed "IOU an EUO?!" with fellow panelists Jeffrey Jones and Christopher Vilione.