Filed Under: Appellate Law Employment & Labor Law
Use It Or Lose It: SCOTUS Ruling Means Employer Defense To Discrimination Claims Can Be Waived
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that failure of an employee to file a discrimination claim with the EEOC prior to bringing a discrimination lawsuit does not deprive a court of jurisdiction over the suit. That means that an employer can waive the defense to a discrimination claim based on failure […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Supreme Court Finds Unexpected Difference between Corporations and Limited Liability Companies
In Marx v. Morris, 2019 WI 34, the Wisconsin Supreme Court interpreted the Wisconsin LLC Act in an unexpected way. Specifically, Marx held that LLC members may bring suit in their capacity as members, instead of on behalf of the LLC, against other members, even when the harm alleged is primarily to the LLC. This deviates from corporate […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Government Relations
Noncompliance with Notice-of-Claim Statute Is Affirmative Defense, Must Be Pleaded
Wis. Stat. § 893.80(1d) requires a potential claimant to provide notice, including “an itemized statement of the relief sought,” to a government entity within 120 days of the event giving rise to a potential suit. In Maple Grove Country Club Inc. v. Maple Grove Estates Sanitary District, 2019 WI 43, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently held […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Government Relations
State Can Raise New Argument in Civil Forfeiture Action, Even After Dismissing Criminal Charges
Some civil and criminal cases rely on indistinguishable facts. However, a recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision – Wisconsin v. Scott, et. al., 2017AP1345 – demonstrated that the parties need not make indistinguishable arguments in each case. In 2016, police seized drugs, money and vehicles pursuant to a search warrant for the Scotts’ property. However, it […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Seventh Circuit Reminds That Failure to Timely Plead an Affirmative Defense Can Be Fatal
The New Wisconsin Trust Code (WTC) will take effect date of July 1, 2014. The new WTC offers greater flexibility in managing trusts, makes it easier to modify or terminate trusts, reduces the need for court involvement and may provide new opportunities in estate planning.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Stafford Helps Municipalities Preserve “Discretionary” Immunity in Wisconsin Supreme Court
Stafford Rosenbaum receives three United Way Partners for Change awards. Among Madison law firms, Stafford Rosenbaum was awarded:Highest Increase in Dollars Raised; Highest Percent in Participation; and Highest Percentage Increase in Participation.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Seventh Circuit Throws Ice Cold Water on Attempt to Undo Adverse State Court Decision
Denasha Scott and James Egle of Stafford Rosenbaum will be presenting “Wisconsin Case Law in a Nutshell: 10 Decisions Every Business Lawyer Should Know” at the Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Corporate Counsel’s Annual Conference on May 16th in Elkhart Lake. Ms. Scott is a partner in the firm's Milwaukee office. Mr. Egle is a partner in Stafford's Madison office.
Filed Under: Appellate Law Business Law
Has the Wisconsin Court of Appeals Shown A Path to Change Successor Liability Law?
Denasha Scott, a partner in the firm's Milwaukee office, was among this year's Wisconsin Law Journal's Women in the Law honorees. The Wisconsin Law Journal honored outstanding achievement by the top women in the practice of law who by achieving success, have also paved the way for success for other women in the legal profession.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Two Strikes and You’re Out: 7th Circuit Addresses Federal and State Rules on Voluntary Dismissal
Ten attorneys from Stafford Rosenbaum have been selected to the 2015 Wisconsin Super Lawyers list. Moreover, Anthony Menting was selected as one of the top 25 lawyers in Madison, and Daphne Webb was chosen as one of the top 25 women attorneys in Wisconsin. Three Stafford attorneys were chosen for the 2015 Wisconsin Rising Stars list.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Affirms Limited Scope of Insurance Agents’ Duties to Insureds
Tiffany Highstrom, a Partner at Stafford Rosenbaum, has been chosen as a recipient of the 2018 Women in the Law Award. This prestigious honor is bestowed upon 29 attorneys, and celebrated at a dinner event put on by the Wisconsin Law Journal on June 21, 2018 at Discovery World in Milwaukee.
Filed Under: Appellate Law
What Will Follow from Wholesale Changes to Wisconsin’s Class-Action Statute?
On July 1, 2018, for the first time in more than a century, major changes to Wisconsin’s class-action statute took effect. See Supreme Court Order No. 17-03, 2017 WI 108. As a result, Wis. Stat. §803.08 now mirrors, nearly identically, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, which governs class-action suits in federal courts. The harmonization […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Europe’s New Personal Data Protection Law Will Have Broad Impact on U.S. Businesses
SAS and OMP The European Union Parliament enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), which aims to protect the personal information of individuals in the EU. Many U.S. businesses will have to comply with the GDPR if they have personal information—which includes a variety of data from name to birthdate, home address to IP address, […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Court of Appeals Suggests Possible Path To Waiver of PFC Review
Court of Appeals Suggests Possible Path To Waiver of PFC Review Can a municipality and a public safety employee agree to waive the disciplinary process before a police and fire commission under Wis. Stat. § 62.13(5). Yes, at least in some circumstances, according to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. City of Janesville v. WERC, 193 […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Condemnor’s Duty to Negotiate in Good Faith is Limited to Compensation
Condemnor’s Duty to Negotiate in Good Faith is Limited to Compensation In Zastrow v. American Transmission Company LLC, Case No. 17-AP-1848 (July 3, 2018) (unpublished) the Wisconsin Court of Appeals confirmed that a condemnor’s duty to negotiate in good faith relates only to the issue of compensation. American Transmission Company (ATC) held a pre-existing transmission […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Supreme Court Ends Great Weight Deference to Agency Legal Interpretations, Splinters on Rationale
Supreme Court Ends Great Weight Deference to Agency Legal Interpretations, Splinters on Rationale For decades, Wisconsin courts deferred to administrative agencies’ interpretation of statutes and regulations under certain conditions. See Harnischfeger Corp. v. LIRC, 196 Wis. 2d 650, 659–60, 539 N.W.2d 98 (1995). The Supreme Court of Wisconsin put an end to this practice in […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Enbridge Pipeline Expansion Likely to Proceed After Proof of Insurance
Enbridge Corporation (“Enbridge”) transports crude oil through a pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to Pontiac, Illinois. Enbridge wants to expand the volume of crude oil pumped through their line. The Dane County Board of Supervisors granted Enbridge a conditional use permit (“CUP”), subject to two insurance-related conditions. Condition 7 required Enbridge to procure and […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
The Final Countdown: Changes to Discovery Rules (and more!) Await Litigants Starting Next Month
As litigants turn the calendar on June, significant new rules await for cases filed after July1, 2018. Rather than take its cues from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which traditionally governed procedural rules, the Legislature enacted substantial changes to Wisconsin’s laws on discovery. In 2017 WI Act 235, the Legislature implemented many new rules covered below […]
