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Owner’s death delays Arctic lawsuit

By: Beth Kevit, [email protected]//May 1, 2013//

Owner’s death delays Arctic lawsuit

By: Beth Kevit, [email protected]//May 1, 2013//

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Settlement talks in a wage lawsuit against Arctic Landscape and Design LLC have resumed following a pause in the case after company owner Arnold Kellenberger died.

Michael Mishlove, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP who represents Brookfield-based Arctic, said Kellenberger was found dead in his Menomonee Falls home. Mishlove said he did not know the cause of Kellenberger’s death.

Kellenberger’s widow, Julie, said her husband died of a heart attack April 1. He was 47. She confirmed Kellenberger had been involved in settlement negotiations but said she did not know what an agreement could include.

“It caused a slight delay because once he died, my hands were tied,” Mishlove said. “I could no longer proceed.”

Eleven former Arctic employees sued Kellenberger and the company in October, claiming they were not paid state-prescribed wages on four Wisconsin Department of Transportation highway projects and were illegally denied overtime wages.

Mishlove replaced Kellenberger’s previous counsel and, according to court records, first appeared in the lawsuit March 25, about a week prior to Kellenberger’s death. Kellenberger’s previous attorneys withdrew in March citing an uncooperative relationship, according to court documents.

Mishlove said he was stymied for about two weeks after Kellenberger’s death waiting for instructions from the estate, but the case is now back on track for settlement. He said Kellenberger had been involved in the settlement talks before his death.

The case is scheduled for a status conference May 15, Mishlove said, and it is possible the settlement could be finished by then.

“We’re trying to finalize it,” he said, “just as quickly as possible.”

Kathryn Muldoon, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Quarles & Brady LLP who represents Kellenberger’s estate, declined to comment on his death or on the settlement negotiations.

David Zoeller, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Hawks Quindel SC who represents the plaintiffs, said Kellenberger’s death added another layer of complexity to an already complicated case.

“I know it was very sudden and unexpected,” he said.

Arctic brought Brookfield-based Badger Lighting and Signs Inc. into the case in December, claiming Arctic subcontracted through Badger on the projects.

Badger went into receivership in January and was granted a temporary reprieve from the lawsuit, hampering Arctic’s third-party claim.

The pace of the case has slowed, Zoeller said, because the estate is now involved.

The potential settlement would include a resolution of Arctic’s claim against Badger, Mishlove said.

Mishlove said the case has been complicated, at least partly because he has never had to grapple with a client’s death before.

“This one was just absolutely over the top,” Mishlove said, “in terms of occurrences that rarely happen.”

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