Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals deems restrictive covenant unenforceable as to short-term rentals
Consider the following facts: a couple owns a single-family waterfront residence on a private dead-end road. The lots on the road are subject to the following restrictive covenant (among others): “there shall be no commercial activity allowed on any of said lots.” They begin renting out the residence on a short-term basis, advertising the property […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Court of Appeals counts small-claims time limit tightly, though statutes suggest looser approach
How do small-claims parties count time? It seems like a small question that should have a simple answer, but in practice it has proven a vexing one. In Team Property Management, LLC v. Reiss, No. 2016AP2163 (Wis. Ct. App. May 24, 2017) (unpublished), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals determined that the ten-day window after a […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Supreme Court Resolves Scope of Church Plan Exemption Under ERISA
By an unanimous (8-0) decision issued June 5, 2017, the United States Supreme Court broadly construed the “church plan” exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), to include benefit plans established by church-affiliated organizations. Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, Nos. 16–74, 16–86, 16–25, ___ U.S. ___ (2017), 2017 WL 2407476 (U.S. 2017). […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
New Standard for Designating Attorney Who Drafts Will To Serve as Estate’s Personal Representative
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently limited the circumstances under which an attorney might serve as personal representative of an estate. In In Re the Estate of Ann H. McMaster Dewey, No. 2016AP865, 2017 WL 1497548 (Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 26, 2017), a decedent nominated her estate planning attorney, Robert Wilmot, as her successor personal representative. Upon […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rejects Novel Argument Against Enforcing Personal Guarantee
In Bank Mutual v. Sherman, No. 2015AP2357 (Ct. App. May 17, 2017) (per curiam), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that an ex-husband continued to be liable for a commercial debt he guaranteed years earlier, for his then-wife. The court was not persuaded by the ex-husband’s novel argument that after the couple’s divorce and her […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Wisconsin Supreme Court Reaffirms Bright-Line Building Permit Rule
In McKee Family I, LLC and JD McCormick Company, LLC v. City of Fitchburg, 2017 WI 34, No. 2014AP1914 (April 12, 2017), the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the bright-line building permit rule, under which a property owner cannot claim vested rights absent submission of an application for a building permit that conforms to the zoning […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms Capacious Scope of Federal Fair Housing Act
The Supreme Court of the United States recently decided Bank of America Corp. v. City of Miami, Nos. 15-1111 & 15-1112, slip op. (U.S. May 1, 2017). The Court remanded the case for further proceedings, and it remains far from clear whether the City can prevail in the end. But the case illustrates the striking […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Court of Appeals Reaffirms Parties Cannot Recover Lost Profits for Unlawful Activity
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently decided 200 Broadway LLC v. City of Milwaukee, Case No. 2016AP273 (May 2, 2017). The decision is interesting both for its central holding that a party is not entitled to damages for lost profits from an unlawful business, and because the appellate court relied heavily on nineteenth century precedent. […]
Filed Under: Employment & Labor Law
Seventh Circuit Expands Title VII Coverage to Include Sexual Orientation Claims
The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, 853 F.3d 339 (7th Cir. 2017), that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In doing so, it overruled its own longstanding precedent and put itself in conflict […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Clarifies when a Plaintiff’s Claim Accrues for Limitations Purposes
To bring a lawsuit, a plaintiff must file suit in a timely manner. Different kinds of claims face different time limits—limitation periods, in legalese. These limitation periods generally measure time from when the plaintiff’s cause of action first accrues. But that in itself is not very helpful. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals in Bleecker v. […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Employment & Labor Law
Seventh Circuit: Self-Serving Statements Best Served with a Side of Factual Support
Whitaker v. Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 849 F.3d 681 (7th Cir. 2017), recently served up a refresher on the role of self-serving affidavits in summary judgment proceedings. In Whitaker, the plaintiff alleged that she was fired by a state agency as a result of intentional discrimination based upon her disability. Whitaker suffered from chronic […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Only Wisconsin Case Before U.S. Supreme Court this Term Should Not Be Decided
Stafford Rosenbaum attorneys, Bruce Huibregtse and Jordan Corning, have been selected as co-recipients of the State Bar of Wisconsin Lawyer Referral and Information Service 2014 Hotline Attorney of the Year award.
Filed Under: Government Relations
Plain Language in Oshkosh Special Events Ordinance Prevails
The Village of Lake Delton is not liable for damages to five houses and nine lots caused by massive flooding in June 2008, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The village's attorney, Ted Waskowski is a partner with Stafford Rosenbaum.
Filed Under: Appellate Law Government Relations
Wisconsin’s Property Tax Assessment Statutes Challenge to be Decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Susan Allen, a senior associate in Stafford Rosenbaum's Milwaukee office was recently named by Milwaukee Magazine as a Leading Litigation Lawyer in 2014.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
U.S. Supreme Court to Clarify State’s Treatment of Military Disability Benefits in Divorce Case
Christopher Hughes, Paul Kent, Richard Nordeng and Daphne Webb have been selected for "Best Lawyers 2015 Lawyer of the Year". Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant.
