By: Derek Hawkins//July 27, 2016//
WI Court of Appeals – District IV
Case Name: Peter Bernegger v. Cara Thompson, et al
Case No.: 2015AP2168
Officials: Kloppenburg, P.J, Sherman, and Blanchard, JJ.
Focus: Personal Jurisdiction
Peter Bernegger appeals an order of the circuit court dismissing his lawsuit against the State of Mississippi Department of Revenue, Cara Thompson (an employee of the Mississippi Department of Revenue), and Jacob Collection Group, LLC. Bernegger contends that the court erred in concluding that it did not have personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendants and that, even if it had jurisdiction, Bernegger’s complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. We affirm based on the personal jurisdiction issue. The out-of-state defendants’ attempts to collect taxes allegedly owed in Mississippi by Bernegger’s Mississippi-based limited liability company by periodically sending tax statements or letters and making phone calls to Bernegger at his Wisconsin residence do not meet the due process requirement of minimum contacts necessary to confer personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendants in Wisconsin.