Filed Under: Family Law
Attorney Tiffany Highstrom to Present on Ethics for GALs & Family Law Practitioners
Attorney Tiffany Highstrom Presents to Guardians Ad Litem & Family Law Practitioners On December 7, from 12:00-1:00 PM, Attorney Tiffany Highstrom will lead and present on a webinar panel sponsored and hosted by the Collaborative Family Law Council of Wisconsin (CFLCW). Avoiding Ethical Pitfalls: A Webinar for GALs & Family Law Practitioners will cover the […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Situated in Wisconsin
How the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Affords Protections to Businesses Based Out of State In an earlier post, we discussed when the relationship between two parties qualifies as a protected dealership under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law and how the statute may apply to an eclectic mix of commercial arrangements. For a WFDL-protected dealership to […]
Filed Under: Election & Political Law
Attorney Jeff Mandell in the Media Spotlight Surrounding Wisconsin Redistricting
Attorney Jeff Mandell Receives Wisconsin and Nationwide Attention on Redistricting and Wisconsin Legislative Maps Stafford Rosenbaum Partner Jeff Mandell made an appearance on the November 19, 2023 edition of UpFront, a Wisconsin TV broadcast produced by ABC on Sunday mornings. He is part of the counsel team leading oral arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court […]
Filed Under: Trust & Estates Law
Attorney Johanna Allex to Present on Special Needs Trusts
Attorney Johanna Allex to Present on Special Needs Trusts for the Madison Public Library Foundation The Madison Public Library Foundation will host Special Needs Trusts as part of an upcoming presentation in its virtual Educational Series. Special needs trusts are set up for people with physical or cognitive disabilities to supplement benefits, such as Social […]
Filed Under: Business Law
Attorneys James Egle and Iana Vladimirova to Present on the Corporate Transparency Act
Stafford Rosenbaum Attorneys Address the Corporate Transparency Act with Business Owners On Wednesday, November 15, 2023, the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Family Business Center will host morning and lunchtime presentations during its Food for Thought program. Attorneys Jim Egle and Iana Vladimirova will present on the Corporate Transparency Act, coming into effect on January […]
Filed Under: Government Law
Attorney Derek Punches Authors ATV and UTV Regulation Article for The Municipality Magazine
Stafford Rosenbaum Government and Municipal Law Attorney Derek Punches Authors “Exploring Municipal Regulation of ATVs and UTVs” for The Municipality Magazine Attorney Derek Punches wrote an article for The Municipality magazine’s November 2023 issue, focusing on the regulation of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and utility terrain vehicles (UTVs). “Exploring Municipal Regulation of ATVs and UTVs” is […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Contracting Around the WFDL
Contracting around the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law As explained in an earlier blog post defining a dealership under the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law, the existence of a “contract or agreement, either expressed or implied, whether oral or written” is necessary for a relationship to be protected by the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law. In most business […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Adverse Actions
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law provides that a grantor cannot “terminate, cancel, fail to renew, or substantially change the competitive circumstances” of a protected dealership without providing good cause, proper notice, and an opportunity to cure. Wis. Stat. §§ 135.03-.04. Most adverse actions are easy to identify: a phone call terminating the relationship, a letter […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Excluded Relationships
Earlier in Stafford Rosenbaum’s Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law blog series, we explained that the WFDL extends good-cause, notice, and opportunity-to-cure protections to an extraordinarily diverse set of businesses, including beauty product wholesalers, lawn and farm equipment distributors, and even municipal contractors. That said, the statute and case law have created specific and limited exceptions to […]
Filed Under: Business Law Dealership & Franchise Law
New Food Delivery Service Regulation on the Horizon?
Last year, we wrote about a bi-partisan group of state senators and members of the state assembly introducing legislation to regulate third-party food delivery services in Wisconsin. Although that legislation stalled, an expanded group of state legislators has re-introduced a similar bill with some slight modifications. The 2023 proposed legislation seeks to create three requirements […]
Filed Under: Election & Political Law Litigation
In Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, Seventh Circuit Reiterates the Low Bar for Intervention and Further Explains the “Uniqueness” Interest for Intervention Purposes
The Democratic Party of Illinois may not intervene in a suit relating to mail-in voting, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The case, Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections, arose when Congressman Michael Bost and two voters challenged an Illinois law that permits completed mail-in ballots to be counted […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Remedies
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law (WFDL), Wis. Stats. § 135.01 et seq., is triggered only when a grantor takes or plans to take an action that has considerable impact on the relationship with its dealer. Whether that action is termination, cancellation, non-renewal, or substantially changing the competitive circumstances of the relationship, needless to say, the […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Insurance Law Litigation
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Integrated Systems Analysis Does Not Apply to Evaluating Insurance Coverage Under a CGL Policy
In 5 Walworth, LLC v. Engerman Contracting, Inc., 2023 WI 51, the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed insurance coverage under a commercial general liability policy for damages allegedly caused by the deficient construction of an inground swimming pool. The pool cracked, causing water to leak into and destabilize the surrounding soil. Attempts were made to fix […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: Notice and Cure
The protections conferred by the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law extend beyond good cause. The WFDL expressly requires that a grantor issue a dealer proper notice with an opportunity to cure prior to terminating, not renewing, cancelling, or substantially changing the dealership. As discussed in our previous post, what constitutes proper notice turns, in part, on […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: What Is Good Cause?
Good cause is the core protection provided by the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law. In a dealership relationship covered by the WFDL (see our previous blog post that defines a dealership as it pertains to the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law), the grantor cannot terminate, fail to renew, cancel, or substantially change the competitive circumstances of the […]
Filed Under: Family Law
You Do Not Have to Sign your Life Away: A Brief Primer on the Benefits of Marital Property Agreements
There are many reasons for small and family business owners to consider a marital property agreement. This post will briefly explain Wisconsin law as to ownership of property at death and divorce without a marital property agreement and why executing a marital property agreement can alter those laws to protect business interests and simplify transfer […]
Filed Under: Business Law Employment & Labor Law Environment and Land Use Law
Keeping Construction Workers Safe in the Face of Climate Change and Extreme Heat
It’s May 1st, which means it’s the beginning of construction safety week. It’s also the day those of us living in Wisconsin can begin to believe we won’t see snow again for at least a few months. And while we’re all looking forward to warmer days ahead, we also have to prepare for days that […]
Filed Under: Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: What Is a Dealership?
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law is a robust trade law that prohibits “grantors” from terminating, failing to renew, cancelling, or substantially changing “dealerships” without good cause, proper notice, and an opportunity to cure. With a few select exceptions, the WFDL applies generally, and a wide range of businesses have successfully claimed protection under the statute, […]
Filed Under: Business Law Dealership & Franchise Law
The Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law Enters Its 50th Year: An Introduction
On April 5, 1974, Governor Patrick Lucey signed the Wisconsin Fair Dealership Law into law, hailing it as the Magna Carta for small businesses. In his words, the WFDL was enacted to “protect the thousands of small businessmen in Wisconsin” who operate “filling stations, building materials and supply houses, lumber yards, sports equipment stores” and […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Business Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Allows Negligence Claims for Cybersecurity Attacks, Holds that Invasion of Privacy Claims Require Intentional Conduct
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals allows negligence claims against businesses for cybersecurity attacks to move forward but holds that invasion of privacy claims require intentional conduct. In the age of technology, more businesses are choosing to store their records in electronic databases for a variety of reasons, such as reducing paper files or to centrally […]
