The District Court for the District of Minnesota (Kyle, J.) denied summary judgment to a Bloomington police officer and Pawn America in a case arising out of the unlawful arrest and defamation of a local attorney.  See El-Ghazzawy v. Berthiaume, -- F. Supp. 2d --, 2010 WL 1544279.  This denial was preceded by the Court granting El-Ghazzawy’s motion to amend his complaint to seek punitive damages against the pawnshop on the defamation count.  See Civ. No. 09-373 (RHK/AJB) (Doc. # 41).  El-Ghazzawy and the pawnshop have since reached a confidential settlement.  Berthiaume’s appeal from the Court’s denial is presently pending before the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals.

This case was previously selected by Minnesota Law & Politics as a 2009 “Lawsuit of the Year.  ”El-Ghazzawy was represented by Flynn, Gaskins & Bennett attorneys, Robert Bennett, Andrew Noel, and Jeffrey Storms.