--- title: "Minnesota Supreme Court Redefines \"Injury\" in Consumer Fraud" description: There is a private attorney general action under Minnesota Statutes Section 8.31. In a sense, what it does is permit a private citizen to bring claims that would affect many others, but not in a class action sense. The upside to the individual is that she can recover significant attorney's fees in bringing the action. --- [Dan's Desk](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/author/dan-gallatin) - [lawyer](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/lawyer) - [hugo](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/hugo) - [MN](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/mn) - [law](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/law) - [attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/attorney) - [legal](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/tag/legal) [Subscribe](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/minnesota-supreme-court-redefines-injury-in-consumer-fraud#) 08/02/2019 # Minnesota Supreme Court Redefines "Injury" in Consumer Fraud - - - - - [mailto:?subject=Minnesota%20Supreme%20Court%20Redefines%20%22Injury%22%20in%20Consumer%20Fraud&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fminnesota-supreme-court-redefines-injury-in-consumer-fraud](mailto:?subject=Minnesota%20Supreme%20Court%20Redefines%20%22Injury%22%20in%20Consumer%20Fraud&body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gallatin-law.com%2Fblog%2Fminnesota-supreme-court-redefines-injury-in-consumer-fraud) There is a private attorney general action under Minnesota Statutes Section 8.31. In a sense, what it does is permit a private citizen to bring claims that would affect many others, but not in a class action sense. The upside to the individual is that she can recover significant attorney's fees in bringing the action. In the Engstrom opinion, the Supreme Court opined that incurring attorney's fees in response to allegedly fraudulent demands is sufficient to be an injury in the context of the private attorney general statute. This is very significant as historically attorney's fees paid by a party did not constitute an injury sufficient to cause another party to be liable for damages. Before you send that demand letter, make sure you know what you are doing and you are locked in on the debt claimed. The defendant in Engstrom might have believed it was actually owed money, but is now facing a significant payout. The material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice, nor is it a substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. Each situation is unique, and you should not act or rely on any information contained herein without seeking the advice of an experienced attorney. 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Born in St. Paul, Dan spent many of his formative years growing up there before moving to White Bear Lake. After graduating from White Bear Lake, Dan spent four glorious years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a degree in two majors. Dan worked as a Senior Investigator at the Minnesota Department of Commerce for several years after graduating from college. During his final years Dan attended William Mitchell College of Law while still working full-time. During this exhausting 3 ½ year period Dan honed his skills in becoming an efficient, to-the-point legal practitioner. While at Madison Dan met his wife, Tonya, and together they moved to Minnesota to plant their roots. Dan and Tonya have two amazing, unique children and reside in Hugo. ### CONNECT WITH ME - ## Related Posts [08/24/2016 Utlizing Conciliation Court in 2016 I try to have a high degree of practicality when talking with current or prospective clients on what course of action to take. One thing that has… Read Post ](https://www.gallatin-law.com/blog/utlizing-conciliation-court-in-2016) [![Amending a Trust: Use of Power of Attorney](https://www.gallatin-law.com/hubfs/Canva%20images/Canva%20Design%20DAFZWZ1cfAs.png) 02/01/2023 Amending a Trust: Use of Power of Attorney Late January 2023, the court of appeals issued a precedential opinion on amending a trust. 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