Wisconsin Law Journal – WI Legal News & Resources Wisconsin Legal News & Resources

Sexual assault statute inapplicable to necrophilia

Rule 32(h) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provides: “Before the court may depart from the applicable sentencing range on a ground not identified for departure either in the presentence report or in a party’s prehearing submission, the court must give the parties reasonable notice that it is contemplating such a departure. The notice must specify any ground on ...

Above guideline sentence does not require notice

Law school funds phased out in Assembly budget

Despite the holding, plaintiffs’ attorneys should continue to oppose offsets where the subrogated insurer defaults, and preserve the issue for potential review in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The holding in Lambert v. Wrensch, 135 Wis. 2d 105, 399 N.W.2d 369 (1987), has always been contrary to public policy, and recent cases from the Supreme Court undermine it. When a subrogated ...

Responsible party's liability is reduced by the offset

The result in this case is consistent with prior precedent, but the reasoning goes far beyond it. The court could have resolved the issue solely with reference to Sutter v. State, 69 Wis.2d 709, 233 N.W.2d 391 (1975). In Sutter, the plaintiff alleged breach of contract, and was awarded judgment in the trial court. The Supreme Court reversed, and remanded ...

What the court held Case: Tietsworth v. Harley-Davidson, Inc., No. 2004AP2655. Issue: Can a plaintiff amend his complaint after an appellate court has affirmed a dismissal by the circuit court? Holding: No. Absent a clear directive to act, the circuit court has no jurisdiction to reopen the case for amendment of the complaint. Attorneys: For Appellant: Warshafsky, Ted M.; Crivello, ...

We’ve certainly been busy for the last couple of years.” Duncan C. Delhey Gray & Associates LLP It is no secret that the steady escalation of foreclosures around Wisconsin has forced thousands of homeowners to deal with financial and emotional hardships. The rise in foreclosures has affected businesses in a variety of ways. Some groups, such as attorneys specializing in ...

As a result of the decision, all fee-shifting statutes could be interpreted to allow for an award of “reasonable costs,” regardless of whether the statute allows for “actual costs” or just “costs.” Any statute which is designed to protect consumers (or tenants, or any other group deemed to have unequal bargaining power), will be indistinguishable from sec. 218.0163(2). Unless “reasonable ...

Defrauded auto buyer can recover reasonable costs

Foreclosures are up in Wisconsin in a pretty significant way. ForeclosuresWI.com reports that over the last year, the foreclosure rate shot up 45 percent in Milwaukee County, while they rose 11 percent in Dane County. The state as a whole, meanwhile, averaged a 21 percent increase. And while more people may be moving out of their homes, economic development leaders ...

Following the residential housing boom earlier in the decade, Wisconsin, like the rest of the country, has taken a turn in recent years and seen a rise in the number of residential foreclosures. Looking at figures for the first quarter of 2007, the Mortgage Bankers Association has ranked the state 35 in terms of mortgage payment delinquency and 13 for ...

Click here for larger image A mortgage payment hasn’t been made in months. It’s time to foreclose. Here’s what debtors and creditors can expect, legally speaking. Wisconsin is a judicial foreclosure state, meaning that a lawsuit must be commenced to foreclose on property. It also means that the process in general is lengthier than the nonjudicial alternative available in some ...

The era of the high-risk mortgage loan could soon come to a close. With many of the economy’s current struggles being blamed on overzealous mortgage lending by financial institutions, federal regulators are stepping up efforts to crack down on loose lending practices. Responding to pressure from Congress, the Federal Reserve is considering several reforms, including: limiting loans that do not ...

"I always recommend to people that they should at least contact the mortgage company because with so many foreclosures going on, I think as a whole, the industry is becoming a little more willing to do work-outs with people." Robert M. Waud, debtor’s bankruptcy attorney “I’m about to lose my car.” “I’m about to lose my home.” These are refrains ...

There’s no clear-cut way to determine how the rising number of foreclosures is contributing to the decrease in new homes being built. In 2006, Wisconsinites pulled 8,005 fewer home-building permits than they did in 2005. The short answer is that rising foreclosures didn’t help the situation any. But the 34 percent increase in foreclosures between 2005 and 2006 is a ...

If nothing else comes of this case, it should be expected that, the next time the court makes a rule change, it will consider whether its application should be retroactive and state so explicitly. Even if the court doesn’t, however, the court has issued an opinion that will provide guidance for lower courts in deciding whether a new rule is ...

But only if application is not undue burden

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly made good on its promise to cut spending with passage of its version of the biennium budget on July 10. The budget, passed by a 51-44 vote, calls for approximately $9.8 billion less in spending than the state Senate version which was approved on June 26. Casualties included removal of more than $19 million in state ...

This is the most fractured decision of the court this term, and reckoning its holdings requires an XY chart, with seven justices spanning one axis and 2 issues spanning the other axis. The first issue is whether replacement property implicates the Takings Clause. Justice Prosser says it does; Justices Roggensack, Wilcox and Crooks say it does not. Chief Justice Abrahamson ...

'Comparable' replacement property need not be perfect fit

County Payments Under the Senate-approved budget, payments to counties for circuit court costs would increase by $9.1 million in 2007-08 and $10 million in 2008-09. Under the existing budget, counties receive a total of $18.7 million annually. Of the 150 changes made by the Wisconsin State Senate to the Joint Finance Committee’s (JFC) version of the state budget, very few ...

Supreme Court defers requirement until Sept. 1

The split decision in the city of Milwaukee’s civil suit against NL Industries may have only served as a primer for the next coat of questions in cases calling for the remediation of lead paint from local residences. A jury voted 10-2 that the existence of lead paint in a portion of the city’s housing, primarily in lower income areas, ...

The court’s reliance on Walton v. Briley, 361 F.3d 431 (7th Cir. 2004), and Peterson v. Williams, 85 F.3d 39 (2nd Cir. 1996), to conclude that it is “irrelevant” whether closure was inadvertent or intentional, is not necessarily misplaced, but the reliance is clearly overextended. The Seventh Circuit did declare in Walton, “Whether the closure was intentional or inadvertent is ...

Conviction reversed where courthouse locked but trial continued

New rules of trust accounts, professional conduct come into play

The Lackershire decision seems unlikely to be cited as precedent often, but the Howell decision may have great impact. The facts in Lackershire — a legally blind, cognitively disabled defendant charged and convicted of sexual assault of a child, despite her claims of being raped and admissions by the “victim” that he was the instigator of the conduct, and an ...

Two cases relax burden for plea withdrawal