On May 21, 2025, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its decision in Lund v. Calhoun Orange, Inc., 20 N.W.3d 871 (Minn. 2025), in which it upheld its previously articulated standards for enforceability of exculpatory agreements and indemnification clauses. In that decision, the court affirmed dismissal of the plaintiff’s ordinary negligence claim against a Meagher + Geer client represented on appeal by Julia Nierengarten.

This decision followed a jury trial on the merits of plaintiff’s willful and wanton negligence claims, after which the jury returned a defense verdict for our late partner, Mike Hutchens.

This decision follows closely on the heels of Justice v. Marvel, where the supreme court expressly articulated that the strict construction standard applicable to indemnification clauses in Minnesota is equally applicable to exculpatory provisions. In Orange Theory, the supreme court further clarified that, where an unenforceable exculpatory provision appears alongside an enforceable indemnification provision, the indemnification provision remains enforceable and may, where its terms dictate, produce the same result as an exculpatory provision even if the exculpatory provision itself is not enforceable.