Leny Wallen-Friedman: Mute?

Anyone who follows campaigns is more than prepared to deal with the political pablum all candidates spew at one point or another.  What often seperates the good office-holders from the bad is their willingness to actually engage in the issues, instead of throwing around insults to opponents.

So how is Leny Wallen-Friedman doing on talking about issues?

Is he answering questionnaires?  Nope.

Surely he's getting down to details on his website?  Nope.  But you get to see him in a fishing hat, so you know he's ready for the job.

Maybe it's on his Facebook page?  Nope.

But at least his supporters are talking about his qualifications, right?  Holy s*^t, Nope!

Interesting that supporters Dick Novack (who authored hit pieces against other political opponents) and Laura Davis (former DFL chair of Edina and 2004 41A DFL-endorsed candidate) are more interested in creating faux "news" stories about Leny's fellow school board candidates that singing his praises.  Will Leny Wallen-Friedman call upon his supporters to cease these tactics or does he agree with what they're doing?

Leny Wallen-Friedman: Supporter of Fraud II?

Leny's next fraud-accused client - Progressive Insurance, which tried (and won one case) against having to pay an auto repair company for glass replacement.

Leny may view his politics as "progressive" but there's nothing progressive about the Insurance company of the same name, who is well-known for shortchanging insurance companies and clients.  But then, hey, all insurance companies are fighting to get the best deal and Progressive Insurance sizable worse than most.  Right?

Then why is Leny Wallen-Friedman again representing a powerful institution that (in this case in particular) lost based on strong evidence they were guiltly.  From the court documents: 

Two separate panels of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, ruling in favor of the insurers, held that the presence of an auto insurance policy's anti-assignment clause precludes policyholders from assigning the right to post-loss proceeds in auto glass repair claims. Auto Owners Ins. Co. v. Star Windshield Repair, Inc., 743 N.W.2d 329, 331 (Minn. App. 2008);  [*3]  Star Windshield Repair, Inc. v. W. Nat'l Ins. Co., 744 N.W.2d 237, 238 (Minn. App. 2008). We granted the auto glass vendors' petitions for review on the validity of post-loss assignments of insurance proceeds, and we consolidated the cases for oral argument and decision. We reverse the court of appeals' decisions and remand to the district court in each of the four cases for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Read the entire case, including the concurrance by then-Justice Barry Anderson of the Minnesota State Supreme Court that Progressive (and the other insurers named in the lawsuit) were guilty of having paid under the value of replacement glass for auto repair shops.

What we're starting to see is a clearer picture of Leny Wallen-Friedman's priorities.  Leny certainly follows the golden-rule - he who has the gold makes the rules.  How can we possibly count on Leny Wallen-Friedman to put our children first?

Leny Wallen-Friedman: Supporter of Fraud?

Lawyers sometimes have to defend the nearly indefensible - we know that often comes with the territory.  But Leny Wallen-Friedman's legal history suggests many cases where someone with a supposed mantra of "Justice for All" prefers to make sure there's justice for less-than-honorable elements.

Today's example?  Leny defending a chiropractic firm who committed car insurance fraud to treat clients, ripping off $50,000 from AAA. 

But we're making a mountain out of molehill, right?  I mean it's just one case....

Leny Wallen-Friedman: Sexist?

Leny Wallen-Friedman is the president of Wallen-Friedman & Floyd, P.A. and has tried to cultilvate a reputation as a fair-minded jurist and supporter of the less-advantaged.  Leny and his firm have long been contributors to Legal Aid, a group whose motto is "Justice for All."

Does Leny's practice actually uphold such a stated value?  The record strongly suggests otherwise.

One of Leny's clients in 1997 was the Eagle Nursing Home, which was being sued for paying female staff less than men and then tried to justify the entire practice by attempting to discredit the plantiff, Rozmeree French.  From the court documents:

By April 1993, Eagle had hired several male LPNs. The new male LPNs allegedly were paid more than female LPNs with the same or more experience. French maintains that by early May 1993, she had questioned Defendant William Eagle¹ about this pay policy, had requested a raise, and had been told to discuss the matter with Andreen. French did so, but her complaint was not documented or investigated. French also asked Defendant Steven Winthrop, Eagle's Controller, about receiving a raise on several occasions. Winthrop told French that he was working on the problem but claims not to have told her that he had the authority to authorize pay raises. According to French, Defendants Martinson and Johnson also were aware of French's numerous complaints about the pay disparity between male and female LPNs at Eagle. French contends that she began to receive negative performance reviews shortly after making her initial complaints about unequal pay to William Eagle, Winthrop, and Andreen.

Now, unlike Leny's friends, let's be a little fair.  The court records did show that Ms. French had an average to below average record of employment as a nurse.  And, of course, Eagle has a right to legal representation.  But Ms. French's record was not the record at the heart of the suit - it was Eagle's record of paying female employees (whether their performance was excellent or more like Ms. French's) less than their male counterparts.  Making things even worse was the climate of physical harassment Ms. French had to endure:

French contends that during the second conversation, Johnson defamed her and placed her in danger of physical contact by calling her a terrible nurse and by throwing up her hands and pointing a finger at French.

Again, everyone or institutions has the right to an attorney - even an organization with questionable employment practices like Eagle.  What remains odd is that Leny Wallen-Friedman, supposed advocate for the disenfranchised, would do only choose to represent a company accused of sexism but "defend" his client through aggressive, character-defaming means. 

Does Leny Wallen-Friedman support sexist policies or does he simply feel that defending sexist policies through any means necessary is simply good business - for him?  Leny needs to answer these troubling questions immediately. The legal response Leny Wallen-Friedman designed to help Eagle?  Attack Ms. French's abilities as a nurse.  Indeed, Eagle's entire case seemed to rest on destroying their opponent's character....hmm, sounds familar to Leny's political allies in the Edina School Board race.

Why Is This Necessary?

It's a direct question - why exactly would Edina voters need a blog dedicated to revealing additional details about a candidate for the 2011 school board race?  Isn't there enough partisanship and rancor out there in politics already?

Yes, but unfortunately other campaigns have elected to run this election on lies and half truths about other candidates.  There are 4 solid people running for 3 seats on the Edina School Board, and yes, we include Leny Wallen-Friedman among those 4 solid individuals.  But voters deserve a fuller picture of all the candidates in the race and not to have this election decided by rumors and baseless accusations.

Here on Exposing Leny, all of our posts will be sourced and our criticisms valid.  We will be talking about Mr. Wallen-Friedman's past but also about the actual issues - and why Leny Wallen-Friedman should not join the Edina School Board.

If the caliber of this campaign returns to the elections of old - no more random mud-slinging, we'll be the first to lower our Internet arms.  But until that day, we will continue to Expose Leny Wallen-Friedman.