High court to hear oral arguments Tuesday

Listen to this article

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in the following three cases on Tuesday.

• 9:45 a.m.: Ricardo Garza v. American Transmission Co. involves a dispute between Garza, a Waupaca resident, and a major electric company over whether a utility easement gave the company the right to cut down and trim trees on Garza’s property, which is near a high voltage power line. The justices are set to weigh in on the scope of utility easements created before 1975 and whether utility companies must renegotiate the easements before updating power lines.
• 10:45 a.m.: Universal Processing Services v. Circuit Court of Milwaukee County is a petition for a supervisory writ from the high court. At issue is whether Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge John DiMotto properly appointed a special master to handle a dispute between a bank card processing service and an independent contractor it had hired to vet and bring on customers.
• 1:30 p.m.: Office of Lawyer Regulation v. Kyle Hanson is a lawyer discipline case stemming from an OLR complaint filed in August 2013. The OLR alleged that Hanson, a Madison attorney with offices in both Illinois and Wisconsin, had lied to a judge that he had not received an opposing party’s motions in 2014 and therefore broke two rules of professional conduct. After a disciplinary hearing, a court-appointed referee concluded that Hanson had broken the rules and suggested that he be privately reprimanded. Hanson is appealing that finding and asking the justices to dismiss the charges of misconduct. He is arguing that negligence or careless doesn’t constitute a violation of the rules.

All oral arguments will be held at the Supreme Court Hearing Room in the state Capitol.