Filed Under: Appellate Law Election & Political Law
Wisconsin Supreme Court Unanimously Concludes Legislature’s Lame-Duck Settlement Statute Is Unconstitutional
Since 2018, Wis. Stat. § 165.08(1), or the “Settlement Statute,” has forbidden the Wisconsin Department of Justice (“DOJ”) from settling or discontinuing any civil action without the approval of the Wisconsin State Legislature. On June 17, 2025, in a decisive win for the DOJ, Governor, and executive branch agencies (the “Petitioners”), a unanimous Wisconsin Supreme […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Election & Political Law
Court of Appeals Concludes Ballots Lacking Election Official Endorsements Must Be Counted
Wisconsin Court of Appeals issues opinion that voting ballots lacking endorsements from elections officials must be counted On March 6, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (Dist. IV) issued a must-read election law opinion declining to toss out three ballots cast in a Rock County election. Gonfiantini v. Rock Cnty. Bd. of Canvassers, No. 2024AP1233 […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
The Ghost of Procedural Rules Past: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Applies Waiver to Party Failing to Appeal a Non-Appealable Order
Attorneys Jeff Mandell and David P. Hollander Explain Wisconsin Appellate Court Decision to Apply Waiver to Party Failing to Appeal a Non-Appealable Order Waiver is a well-established concept under Wisconsin law, defined as the intentional relinquishment of a known right. E.g., Loren Imhoff Homebuilder, Inc. v. Taylor, 2022 WI 12, ¶13, 400 Wis. 2d 611, […]
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: 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 […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rejects Village’s Attempt to Condemn Property for Sidewalk
To exercise the power of eminent domain, Wisconsin municipalities must comply with Chapter 32 of the Wisconsin Statutes. However, the power of eminent domain cannot be used to acquire property to create a “pedestrian way.” In a recently decided case, Sojenhomer LLC v. Village of Egg Harbor (2021AP1589 March 14, 2023) (publication recommended), the Wisconsin Court […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products
Interpreting for the first time the product liability statute adopted in 2011, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to adopt Restatement (Third) of Torts Section 2(b) and holds that the consumer-contemplation test remains the standard for determining whether a product is “unreasonably dangerous” in a strict liability claim. Last month, in Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., 2022 […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products (Extended Post)
Interpreting for the first time the product liability statute adopted in 2011, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to adopt Restatement (Third) of Torts Section 2(b) and holds that the consumer-contemplation test remains the standard for determining whether a product is “unreasonably dangerous” in a strict liability claim. Last month, in Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., 2022 […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Insurance Law Litigation
Wisconsin Supreme Court Issues Significant Opinion: Insurers Cannot Use Preclusion Principles to Sidestep Duty to Defend
Wisconsin Supreme Court issues significant insurance coverage opinion, finding that insurers cannot use preclusion principles to sidestep duty to defend. On January 26, 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court weighed in on one potential exception to the “complaint test” as a method of determining whether an insurance company has a duty to defend a lawsuit brought […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
A Skeptical View of Daubert Motions in Two Recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals Decisions
Litigants routinely rely upon expert witnesses to provide opinion testimony at trial based on their specialized knowledge, training or experience. Also common, the opponent sees serious methodological flaws and thus reaches for a well-known weapon: a Daubert motion asking the trial court to exclude from evidence the report and any associated testimony. Originating in Daubert […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
Non-Delegation in Wisconsin after Becker v. Dane County: The Dissenters
A prior post discussed how, in Becker, et al. v. Dane County, et al., Nos. 2021AP1343 & 2021AP1382, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently turned back an effort to revive the non-delegation doctrine, a tool that—at least in its sharper versions—could be used to pare back much of the modern administrative state. This post picks up […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
Non-Delegation in Wisconsin after Becker v. Dane County
At the end of its 2021-22 term, the Supreme Court released its long-awaited decision in Becker, et al. v. Dane County, et al., Nos. 2021AP1343 & 2021AP1382. The case affirmed the validity of orders issued by the joint public health department of Dane County and the City of Madison to control COVID-19 by, among other […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Business Law Insurance Law Litigation
Wisconsin Joins the Majority: Profit Losses Due to COVID-19 Not Insured
Nationwide, restaurants and bars felt financial strain over the past two years. With measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many food and beverage businesses were subject to restrictions on the use of their in-person dining rooms. In a recent case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that COVID-19 related business interruption losses were […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Litigation
Seventh Circuit Rejects Students’ Claim that University’s Refusal to Refund Fees During COVID Closures Amounts to Constitutional Violation
Public bodies deal with many of the same legal issues as private enterprises—plus a host of unique risks that arise because they are public actors. Public bodies therefore must take care to ensure that they are not violating the protected constitutional rights of their citizens, employees, contractors, or (in the case of schools) students. A […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Court of Appeals Determines City Development Condition Is Unconstitutional Taking
This month, the Court of Appeals affirmed a circuit court decision that held that the City of Brookfield engaged in an unconstitutional taking when it conditioned the approval of a subdivision development on construction of a new public street. The Court of Appeals determined that this “exaction” was not permissible because it did not address […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Insurance Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rules that Reckless Homicide Cannot Constitute an Accident for Purpose of Insurance Coverage
Recently, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled in a case that tests the interaction between criminal law and civil liability. In Dostal v. Strands, 2020AP1943 (Oct. 19, 2021), the court held that an insured’s criminal conviction for second-degree reckless homicide precluded a mother’s claim against the insurer for damages arising from the death of her child. […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rejects Attempted Underinsured Motorist Double Dip
At the close of summer, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals rejected an insurance company’s attempt to “double dip” and reduce its underinsured motorist (“UIM”) coverage responsibility to an insured based on a liability payment made to another insured.[1] The case arose from an automobile accident that caused the death of Michael Shimeta and serious injuries […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Denial of Variance Request Regarding Lakefront Yard Setback Requirements
Cox v. City of Madison Zoning Board of Appeals, Appeal No. 2020AP478 (July 8, 2021) Kathleen Cox purchased property on Lake Mendota with the plan to demolish and rebuild the existing house and wet boathouse. A wet boathouse is one that is built over excavated shoreline with the lake water underneath, into which a boat […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Election & Political Law
Supreme Court of Wisconsin Denies Legislative Redistricting Rulemaking Petition
The Supreme Court of Wisconsin recently denied a petition submitted by former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (“WILL”), proposing new procedural rules limited solely to legal challenges to new legislative districts, including requiring such challenges to be brought solely to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Stafford Rosenbaum Attorneys […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Court of Appeals Holds that Prejudgment Interest Can Be Triggered without a Demand
Recently, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals touched on two important insurance issues: covered autos under Wis. Stat. § 632.32(3) and prejudgment interest under Wis. Stat. § 628.46(1). In January 2016, Jason and Wendy Foerster’s thirteen-year-old son was directed by his uncle to drive a Chevrolet Tahoe to the child’s grandparents’ house to retrieve a piece […]
