Introduction

Crystal is a shareholder in Fredrikson & Byron’s Litigation Group, where she represents both individuals and companies. She focuses on litigation involving complex business transactions. Over the past several years, Crystal has worked on disputes involving contract interpretation and breaches, the purchase and sale of goods, insurance coverage, and business torts.

Crystal is the Chair of the Firm’s Trusts and Estates Litigation Group. Her trusts and estates litigation practice focuses on representing individuals and companies in disputes related to the management and disposition of assets through trusts, wills and other testamentary instruments, including will contests, trust interpretation matters, and suits involving the valuation and diversification of estate and trust assets. In addition, Crystal has represented numerous individuals in contested and uncontested guardianship and conservatorship proceedings where a person’s ability to independently manage his or her affairs is at issue.

Crystal has expertise in litigation matters involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). She represents plan administrators and fiduciaries in disputes with their plan participants and stop-loss and excess coverage insurance carriers, as well as plan participants seeking benefits.

Crystal also represents all types of health care professionals in proceedings before their licensing boards. Her education and experience as a registered nurse allows Crystal to better grasp the substantive issues presented by the board inquiry and assist the professional in formulating a response.

Crystal appears in state and federal courts and arbitration forums throughout the country. She has first-chaired many cases through judgment or award. Crystal has also briefed and argued matters before the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Education

• University of North Dakota School of Law, J.D., 2000
• North Dakota State University, B.S., Nursing, 1997

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 2000
• United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, 2000
• United States Tax Court, 2001
• North Dakota, 2001

Practice Areas

• Litigation
• Medical Practices Defense
• Tax Disputes & Litigation
• Insurance Coverage Litigation
• Trusts & Estates Litigation, Chair

Representative Experience

Trials and Appeals

• Successfully defended a publicly traded corporation against a claim by one of its former directors for compensation in excess of $1,000,000. The former director alleged that he had entered into a contract with the board for the compensation. The board denied the existence of the contract. After a three-day bench trial, the court awarded the former director $5,000.
• Represented several individuals who were sued by their co-owners of a parcel of real estate. The co-owners alleged that they had acquired a certain percentage ownership interest in the real estate through their contribution to its purchase price and performance of “sweat equity.” After a three-day arbitration, the arbitration panel awarded the co-owners half of the percentage interest they originally sought.
• Obtained a favorable arbitration decision for a publicly traded corporation in a multi-million dollar breach of contract claim asserted by an outsourcing vendor.
• Helped a lessee under a series of cattle leases successfully appeal a trial court’s dismissal of the lessee’s claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud against the bank who coordinated the lessee’s entry into the lease.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a self-funded benefit plan, which denied health benefits to a plan participant because he had been engaged in a crime at the time he incurred the injuries for which he sought benefits and coverage for such injuries was excluded by the Plan document. The trial court agreed with the Plan’s interpretation of the Plan document, thereby affirming the denial of benefits and dismissing the plan participant’s claims.
• Successfully defended at trial a widow alleged to have unduly influenced her deceased husband into amending his estate plan to increase the share of assets passing to the widow upon her husband’s death.  
• Assisted an individual in having his long-time friend and caregiver appointed as his co-guardian. Although the individual’s family members opposed the appointment, Crystal negotiated a settlement agreement that preserved her client’s wishes and addressed the family member’s concerns about the appointment.
• Represented (through trial and appeal) the beneficiary of a trust in a dispute concerning the proper method of valuing stock held in the trust, which held various real estate interests.

Select Decisions

• McCarty v. Buechler, 2007 WL 899951 (Minn. Ct. App. March 27, 2007).
• Mandel v. American Community Bank, 2004 WL 117563 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 27, 2004).
• In re: Estate of Patricia King, 668 N.W.2d 6 (Minn. Ct. App. 2003).
• Scottsdale Insurance Company v. Transport Leasing/Contract, Inc., RLI Insurance Company v. Insurance Brokers Service, Inc., Summit Global Partners of Illinois, Inc., 671 N.W.2d 186 (Minn. Ct. App. 2003).
• State v. Stern, 653 N.W.2d 222 (Minn. Ct. App. 2002).
• Winthrop Resources Corporation v. FFP Operating Partners, L.P. et al., 2002 WL 1969256 (Minn. Ct. App. Aug. 27, 2002).
• Herman v. Herman, 2001 WL 710370 (Minn. Ct. App. June 26, 2001).

Selected Publications & Presentations

• Panelist, “The Clash Between Estate Planning and Family Law: When “Til Death Do Us Part” Becomes “Til Divorce Do Us Part,” American Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section eCLE, March 2013
• Author and Panelist, “The Clash Between Estate Planning and Family Law: When ‘Til Death Do Us Part Becomes ‘Til Divorce Do Us Part,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section Spring Symposium, May 2012
• Author and Presenter, “Fiduciary Litigation,” Minnesota Estate Administration Deskbook, March 28, 2012 and 2013 Update
• “Troublesome Trustee Self-Dealing: Case Study Shows Costs of Bad Behavior of Untrustworthy Trustees,” Estate Planning, February 2011
• Panelist, “What To Do When the Client Slips the Leash: Real World Trust Litigation and Ethics As You Hope You’ll Never Have to See Them,“ American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section eCLE, July 2010
• Panelist, “What To Do When the Client Slips the Leash: Real World Trust Litigation and Ethics As You Hope You’ll Never Have to See Them,” American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section Spring Symposium, May 2010
• Panelist, “Trust and Estate Litigation: You can’t take it with you but maybe you should!!!”, Minnesota State Bar Association Probate and Trust Law Section, November 27, 2009
• “Banning Benefits for Bad Behavior: Unraveling the Illegal Act Exclusion,” Probate & Property, a Publication of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the ABA (May/June 2009)
• Author and Presenter, “Financial Exploitation of the Elderly,” Minnesota CLE, May 20, 2009 and January 21, 2009
• Presenter, “Marketing to New and Existing Clients,” Minnesota Women Lawyers Association, November 13, 2008
• Presenter, “Contests, Compromises and the Spousal Elective Share,” Minnesota Estate Administration Deskbook, February 12, 2007
• Author and Presenter, “Contests and Compromises,” Probate Solutions - How to Get an “A”, March 23, 2007
• “Mentoring is a Two-Way Street: There are Benefits for Both Sides,” Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (July 2006)
• “Attorney Client Privilege and Electronic Discovery: Protecting the Attorney-Client Privilege in the New World of Electronic Discovery,” Fredrikson & Byron Litigation Breakfast Seminar (November 2005)
• “The Not So Slippery Slope: The Eighth Circuit Determines that Employer-Paid Airfare is Not ‘Wages’ Subject to Withholding Taxes,” 53 Monthly Digest of Tax Articles 12 (October 2002)
• “The Not So Slippery Slope: The Eighth Circuit Determines that Employer-Paid Airfare is Not ‘Wages’ Subject to Withholding Taxes,” 77 North Dakota Law Review 433 (2001)
• “North Dakota Adopts the Restatement’s ‘Scope of Employment’ Test and Explores the Phenomenon of ‘Transference,’” 75 North Dakota Law Review 137 (1999)

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association – Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section, and Litigation, Ethics & Malpractice Group, Member (2006-present); Vice Chair Probate and Fiduciary Litigation Committee (2012-present) 
• Hennepin County Bar Association – Bench and Bar Committee, Member
• Minnesota State Bar Association – Probate and Trust Law Section, Member
• Minnesota Justice Foundation, Director and Board Development Committee (2005-2010)
• University of St. Thomas School of Law – Volunteer Mentor (2004-2010)
• American Red Cross, Disaster Services Human Resources Volunteer
• Girl Scouts of the USA, Daisy Troop Leader and Service Unit Annual Meeting Delegate
• Registered Nurse

Honors & Distinctions

• “Future Star” designee by Benchmark Litigation - The Definitive Guide to America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (Legal Media Group), 2009
• Recognized by The Business Journal’s top “Forty Under Forty,” 2008
• Order of the Coif