Member Profile

Daniel J. Cragg is an aggressive litigator with a focus on admiralty and maritime law, commercial litigation, employer defense, and procedurally complex cases, including cases against the United States and state and local government. He has represented clients in State and Federal court and in administrative proceedings at the Federal, State and local levels. As a dedicated litigator, he applies his extensive knowledge of procedure and judicial remedies to a wide array of case types.

• Enforcement of maritime contracts and liens, the maritime arrest and attachment procedures of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims, and the defense of maritime claims under COGSA, the Jones Act, and the general maritime law

• Competitor lawsuits, including trade secret claims, false advertising, Lanham Act, disparagement, unfair competition, and tortious interference with contract

• Enforcement and defense of covenants not to compete

• Breach of contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty

• Complex creditor/debtor relationships, liens, and security interests

• Bid Protests at the Federal and State level

• Municipal land use and regulatory issues

• U.S. Small Business Administration Size Protests

• Claims against Federal, State and local government, including contract claims, tort claims, and claims arising under the federal and state constitutions

• Defense of manufacturers/importers from claims by independent sales representatives, including claims under Minnesota’s Independent Sales Representative Act, Minn. Stat. 325E.37

• Defense of employment discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Minnesota Human Rights Act

Maritime/Transportation, banking/alternative finance, construction, factoring, government contracts, importing, manufacturing, retail, software/tech, and temporary staffing.

• ARA, Inc. v. Barnes Personnel Management, Inc. et al., 2014 WL 3748633 (D. Minn 2014).

• U.S. ex rel Sandager v. Dell Marketing, L.P., 872 F.Supp.2d 801 (D. Minn. 2012).

• Saleem v. Heimie's Haberdashery, 2011 WL 4971566 (D. Minn. 2011).

• City of Minneapolis v. Minneapolis Police Relief Association, 800 N.W.2d 165 (Minn. App. 2011).

• Eckland & Blando LLP, Minneapolis, MN, August 2011-present

• Kelly & Lemmons, P.A., St. Paul, MN (2009-2011)

• Ramsey County Attorney's Office, St. Paul, MN (certified student attorney) (2008-2009)

• Minnesota Supreme Court

• United States District Court for the District of Minnesota

• United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin

• United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin

• United States Court of Federal Claims

• United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits

• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The Libellant's Dilemma in Rule C Arrests and Rule B Attachments, Benedict's Maritime Bulletin, 2013. An anlysis of whether federal courts sitting in admiralty may enjoin pilots from taking vessels out of port to allow the U.S. Marshal time to arrest or attach the vessel.

Keeping Litigation Ashore: How a Recent Decision Could Offer Maritime Practitioners an Escape from London Arbitration, ABA TIPS Admiralty and Maritime Newsletter, 2012. An analysis of the enforceability of arbitration clauses under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act.

• Maritime Law Association of the United States

o Member, Practice & Procedure Committee.

• Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society

• Minnesota State Bar Association

o Chair, Judiciary Committee.

• American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section

o Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee.

• Federal Bar Association

• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent.

• Super Lawyers Rising Star 2014-15.

• Minnesota Lawyer Up and Coming Attorney 2014.

• Minnesota State Bar Association North Star Lawyer recognition for providing pro bono service.