Overview

Mark focuses his practice in Real Estate, Business, Estate Planning, and Probate. He drafts the full array of
business and commercial documents and provides litigation services aimed at solving the underlying problem.

Mark has tried complex commercial cases involving shareholder and contract disputes, and he has tried a wide range of real estate matters including land use and zoning, easements, lake law, municipal law, quiet title, trespass, boundary/lot line issues, water run-off issues, and neighbor disputes.

Mark regularly appears before city councils, town boards, county boards, administrative boards, and Minnesota District Courts, and he has also appeared before the Minnesota Court of Appeals. He uses a problem solving approach in representing corporations, nonprofits, and individuals in business and real estate matters.

Presentations

• 2026 – I Know My Riparian Rights! Water Law for Property Owners — How to Navigate Real Estate Issues Between Neighbors (Minnesota CLE course for attorneys); co-presented with Kurt W. Porter, August 12, 2026.
• 2025 – The Ins and Outs of Airbnb and Cabin Rentals — The Law of the Great Outdoors (Minnesota CLE course for attorneys), Minneapolis, June 11, 2025. Topics included short-term rental agreements, leases and subleases, and short-term rental regulation.
• 2022 – Minnesota Easements, Rights-of-way, and Eminent Domain; Understanding Riparian and Water Rights — HalfMoon Education Inc.
• 2021 – Survey of Short-Term Rentals and the Present State of Regulations and Enforcement in Minnesota — Minnesota CLE course for attorneys.
• 2020 – The Ins and Outs of Airbnb and Cabin Rentals — Great Outdoors: Cabin Law (Minnesota CLE course for attorneys).
• 2019 – How to Navigate Real Estate Issues Between Neighbors; Riparian Rights — Minnesota CLE course for attorneys.

Representative Matters

• Beal v. Leviska, No. 01-CV-25-678 (Aitkin County District Court, 2026) — represented defendant property owners in a quiet title action resolved in favor of clients through stipulated dismissal with prejudice.
• Thurk v. Doncaster, Cass County No. 11-CV-25-1053 (2025–2026) — obtained a judgment enforcing a property-boundary settlement and an award of damages, including attorney’s fees and costs, plus interest.
• Agate Lake Shores quiet-title action (Crow Wing County, 2026) — obtained judgment establishing clients’ ownership of an adjoining parcel and resolving title and boundary issues.
• Schmidt v. Wageman and Yoss, Crow Wing County No. 18-CV-23-3873 (2024) — obtained dismissal with prejudice after trial of prescriptive-easement claims against neighboring property owners.
• Lee v. Hanson, Crow Wing County No. 18-CV-21-1949 (2022) — successfully defended property owners against a prescriptive-easement claim and obtained judgment quieting title and establishing the surveyed boundary.
• Hecker v. Crow Wing Cnty. Bd., 959 N.W.2d 215 (Minn. Ct. App. 2021) — published decision on notice requirements for variance decisions.
• Christensen v. Homes by Legacy, LLC, et al. (2020) — represented homeowners in a residential remodeling dispute involving incomplete and defective construction; obtained a confessed judgment and negotiated a subsequent settlement.
• Jessie F. Hallett Memorial Library Board v. City of Crosby (2014–2016) — represented Library Board members pro bono in litigation concerning library governance, funding, and staff compensation; obtained an alternative writ of mandamus requiring City compliance or a showing of cause.
• Pederson v. Anderson, A14-2008 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 8, 2015) — represented a property owner in successfully defending against adverse-possession claims; trial court decision affirmed on appeal.
• Ward v. Vangen, Crow Wing County No. 18-CV-13-3701 (2014) — obtained judgment after trial establishing a property owner’s title by adverse possession and permanently enjoining neighboring owners from interfering with her use of the property.
• Cuyuna Regional Medical Center v. City of Crosby, et al., Crow Wing County No. 18-CV-13-4857 (2014) — represented the medical center in mandamus litigation concerning demolition permits and campus parking expansion; resolved through a negotiated settlement.
• Piche v. Braaten, A13-0406, 2014 WL 349712 (Minn. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2014) — obtained a court-ordered $1.621 million buyout for a minority shareholder; valuation upheld on appeal, with payment terms modified.
• Hebert v. City of Fifty Lakes, A13-0311, 2014 WL 103327 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 13, 2014) — represented lakefront property owners in litigation over a municipal road encroaching on Torrens property; obtained reversal and remand of the dismissal of their ejectment claim. Dismissal of the trespass claim was affirmed.
• ABP, LLC, et al. v. Crayon Box Childcare Academy, Inc., et al. (2013) — court awarded $817,858.05 judgment for commercial landlord client.