Civil Procedure – dismissal — spoliation

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Civil

Civil Procedure – dismissal — spoliation

Wagner Dairy Farms, LLC and its owners, Jerome, Mark, and Charles Wagner, appeal an order that dismissed their multiclaim lawsuit against Tri-County Dairy Supply, Inc. and GEA WestfaliaSurge, Inc. Broadly speaking, the lawsuit sought damages for harm to the Wagners’ dairy herd that they alleged had been caused by milking equipment manufactured by WestfaliaSurge and sold and installed by Tri-County Dairy Supply. The circuit court dismissed the lawsuit as a sanction for the spoliation of evidence, and made alternative rulings based upon the summary judgment materials concluding that each of the Wagners’ causes of action would also fail on its merits. The respondents move for an award of attorney fees on the grounds that the appeal is frivolous. We affirm the circuit court’s spoliation decision, and therefore do not reach the alternate bases for dismissal. This opinion will not be published.

2011AP559 Wagner Dairy Farms LLC, et al v. Tri-County Dairy Supply Inc., et al.

Dist IV, Dane County, Markson, J., Per Curiam

Attorneys: For Appellant: Jacobson, Michael, River Falls; Sienko, David, River Falls; For Respondent: Corneille, Barrett J., Madison; Pliner, David J., Madison; Seiler, Gesina M., Madison; Isaacson, Chester Anthony, Madison