Filed Under: Appellate Law
Rules for Lawyers Derail Fiancée’s Unjust Enrichment Claim Against Menard
Watts v. Watts, 137 Wis. 2d 506, 405 N.W.2d 303 (1987) provides the legal framework for unjust enrichment or joint enterprise claims asserted by non-married, cohabitating partners when a relationship ends. In Sands v. Menard, Case Nos. 2012AP2377 and 2015AP870, the Wisconsin Court of Appealsupheld dismissal ofWatts-type claims brought by an attorney and former fiancée […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Seventh Circuit Reiterates Fundamental Principles of Trademark Law (and Litigation Strategy)
The Seventh Circuit recently reiterated long-standing trademark principles while rejecting a litigant’s change in strategy post-trial. The decision in S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., v. Nutraceutical Corporation and Nutramarks, Inc. involved use of the “BUG OFF” mark on insect repellant products. S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. acquired a registration for the “BUG OFF” mark and […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Under Unique Wisconsin Statute, Court Refuses to Enforce Covenant Against Poaching Employees
One of your “big fish” executives leaves employment with your company and goes to work for a competitor. Soon, other employees are leaving. Surely not by coincidence, they join your former big fish, working for your competitor. But your company had locked up Mr. Big Fish with a three-pronged agreement, which included a non-solicitation of […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Seventh Circuit: Wisconsin Debtors Can Shield Some Annuities from Creditors
No debtor owes his or her creditors more than the law demands. Late last month, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit made clear that annuities that qualify for favorable tax treatment are fully exempt from a Chapter 7 bankruptcy estate. See Wittman v. Koenig, No. 15-2798, slip op. (7th Cir. July 26, 2016). […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Update to Earlier Post on Seventh Circuit’s Imposition of Sanctions for Forum Shopping
In June, I wrote about the Seventh Circuit imposing sanctions on an attorney for engaging in forum shopping. This week, the Seventh Circuit issued another opinion in that case. Christopher D. Stombaugh, the attorney sanctioned in this case, sought rehearing. His petition argued, for the first time, that 28 U.S.C. §1927 does not authorize sanctions […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Wisconsin Courts Apply Recent US Supreme Court Decision in OWI Refusal Cases
The United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. ___, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 4058 (June 23, 2016) only weeks ago. More information on the Birchfield decision is available here. In the brief time since Birchfield was decided, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has already issued multiple opinions interpreting Wisconsin’s […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Seventh Circuit Holds Wisconsin Law Allows Mortgage Lien On Vendor’s Interest Under Land Contract
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, under Wisconsin law, a mortgage can properly attach a lien to the vendor’s interest in a land contract. The court stated that the mortgage’s broad language encompassed the borrowers’ interest in the land contract as collateral and the lender perfected its lien by recording the mortgage […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Reiterates Clear Prohibition on Judicial Fact Investigation
For years, the legal profession has debated the propriety of judges conducting independent research into facts undeveloped in or omitted from legal briefs. Last year, the Seventh Circuit moved to the forefront of that debate when a panel of that Court splintered over the propriety of using non-record information to inform its deliberations. See Rowe […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Trust & Estates Law
Court of Appeals: Statute of Frauds Does Not Nix Unsigned Agreement to Convey Property Upon Death
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently adjudicated a dispute about the legal standard applicable to a decades-old contract to transfer property after the owner’s death. See Haug v. Greve, 2015AP54 (April 26, 2016). The case involved the common law statute of frauds, as well as two Wisconsin statutes adopted at the very end of the […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
A Split Between Federal and State Law – Appealing Foreclosure Judgments
In Bank of America v. Martinson, No. 13-3892 (7th Cir. July 5, 2016), the Seventh Circuit recently dismissed an appeal from a foreclosure judgment – issued by a federal court after removal from Wisconsin state court – based on Circuit precedent that a judgment of foreclosure is not a final, appealable order. The Circuit precedent […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
How Will Wis. Stat. § 895.463 Affect Disputes Over the Validity of Zoning Regulations?
A new statutory provision adopted as part of 2015 Wisconsin Act 391 asserts that, in any dispute, “the court shall resolve an ambiguity in the meaning of a word or phrase in a zoning ordinance or shoreland zoning ordinance in favor of the free use of private property.” Wis. Stat. §895.463. On its face, this […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Supreme Court’s Non-Decision in State v. Lynch Raises Questions About How the Court Does Its Work
Last week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw up its hands in a case it had agreed to adjudicate. At issue were what consequences attend a criminal complainant’s refusal to waive the privilege of keeping personal mental health treatment records private. See State v. Lynch, 2016 WI 66. This echoed the last time the Court considered […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Supreme Court Reaffirms Four-Corners Rule Governs Duty to Defend, No Exceptions
The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently issued two decisions, Marks v. Houston Casualty Co., 2016 WI 53, and Water Well Solutions Service Group, Inc. v. Consolidated Insurance Co., 2016 WI 54, concerning the four-corners rule, which was the subject of our previous blog post. Water Well and Marks reaffirm the application, without exception, of the four-corners […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Wisconsin Supreme Court Favors Dodgeville on Retroactivity Question in Property Tax Litigation
This week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Dodgeville, represented by Stafford Rosenbaum, in a major procedural dispute related to property tax litigation between the City and Lands’ End. Lands’ End, Inc. v. City of Dodgeville, 2016 WI 64. The Court’s decision affirms the plain text of the statute governing […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
The Wisconsin Supreme Court Takes a Second Bite at the Apple in ‘Fontana Builders’ Case
In Fontana Builders, Inc. v. Assurance Co. of America, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently considered an insurance dispute featuring intricate facts and presenting a procedural puzzle. It may well be, as Justice Rebecca Bradley suggests in her separate opinion, that the outcome is motivated at least partially by a sense that the facts in this […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law
Supreme Court Upholds Warrantless Breath Tests and Limits Penalties for Blood Test Refusals
In Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. __ (June 23, 2016), the United States Supreme Court held warrantless breath tests incident to arrest for drunk driving constitutional, but found warrantless blood tests unconstitutional. The Court also held that, despite the existence of implied consent laws in all States, criminal penalties cannot be imposed against drivers […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Suggests Circuit Courts Have Discretion Not to Follow Procedural Rules
A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals seems to suggest that circuit courts have broad latitude in complying with the Wisconsin Rules of Civil Procedure. First Nat’l Bank of Am. v. Hanson, No. 2015AP925 (Wis. Ct. App. July 6, 2016). While judges should construe the Rules to “secure just, speedy, and inexpensive determination[s]” in litigation, the […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law Municipal Law Trust & Estates Law
Wisconsin Supreme Court Holds that Milwaukee Cannot Enforce City Employee Residency Requirements
In Milwaukee Police Association v. City of Milwaukee, 2016 WI 47, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Wis. Stat. § 66.0502 precludes the City from enforcing its residency requirement. For many years, the City of Milwaukee has required its city employees to reside within city limits as a condition of employment. On June 20, 2013, […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Why Murr v. Wisconsin is a Fascinating Takings Case that the U.S. Supreme Court Should Not Decide
The U.S. Supreme Court is commanding attention this week for its decisions in the final, and sometimes more contentious, cases of this Term. And while we too are following the Court this week, we’re also looking at a case the Court will hear in the fall. Murr v. Wisconsin, No. 15-214 (U.S.), is a fascinating […]
Filed Under: Appellate Law
Part 1: The Factual and Procedural Background of Murr v. Wisconsin
The case involves two adjacent riverfront lots along the St. Croix River in northwest Wisconsin. In 1968, the Upper St. Croix River was one of eight rivers granted federal protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In 1972, another act of Congress extended protection to the Lower St. Croix River. Legislation and regulation on […]
