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

“Lynch would have a much stronger case if at the outset the judge had said, ‘This is an off-the-record settlement conference and no settlement arrived in it will be deemed final and enforceable.’ If the judge later ‘recollected’ that a final and enforceable settlement had been reached, a party promptly objecting to the terms of that so-called settlement would be ...

Although, since the appropriate remedy depends on the totality of the circumstances, a court must examine all of the circumstances to determine an appropriate remedy for that case, considering both the defendant’s and the State’s interests. “In the present case, examining all the circumstances, the available remedies, and the State’s and defendant’s interests, we conclude that the parties should be ...

“The Sugdens contend that the anti-stacking clauses in their policies cannot fall within Wis. Stat. § 632.32(5)(f) because to do so would make other, more specific provisions in the statute, such as § 632.32(5)(g), ‘superfluous’ since all anti-stacking provisions could fall under paragraph (f). But this is an argument that paragraph (f) is written too broadly and should be directed ...

John Burckhardt appeals an order which confirmed a sheriff’s sale following a foreclosure action on Burckhardt’s property. WMC Mortgage Corporation held the outstanding mortgage and successfully bid $84,144.06 for the property. Burckhardt contends: (1) he should have been granted a default judgment when WMC appeared by telephone rather than in person at the initially scheduled confirmation hearing; (2) the sale ...

“Viewing matters through the objective reasonableness standard, we conclude that, even taking the record in the light most favorable to the McNairs, a jury could not properly have found that Officer Coffey personally behaved unreasonably. Good practice may have called for sending fewer cars, the better to maintain patrol coverage throughout the jurisdiction, and good community relations may counsel leaving ...

“If a state provides adequate procedures for seeking just compensation, a property owner cannot state a claim under federal law until he has used those procedures and been denied compensation. City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd., 526 U.S. 687, 721 (1999). The state’s action is not ‘complete in the sense of causing a constitutional injury unless ...

And this is so even though the labs technician has full clearances to all computer files in the district with confidential labor relations matters because the employee has never accessed such files and she has received no administrative directives to do so. “WERC’s decision in this case is not contrary to the purpose of preventing divided loyalties, because management has ...

Randel and Wanda Knipfer appeal a judgment granting declaratory relief to Thomas and Barbara Malin and Thomas and Amy Gallagher. The dispute concerns the scope of the Malins’ easement across property belonging to the Knipfers. The court ruled that title to the easement conveyed the right to it, and also ruled that the Knipfers could not place “fencing” across it. ...

“If a state provides adequate procedures for seeking just compensation, a property owner cannot state a claim under federal law until he has used those procedures and been denied compensation. City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd., 526 U.S. 687, 721 (1999). The state’s action is not ‘complete in the sense of causing a constitutional injury unless ...

“Even if we were to conclude that what Block communicated via his 911 call constituted a known, present danger, we would not necessarily hold that the dispatchers had forfeited any claim to immunity for their actions in response. Neither dispatcher failed to act on the information they were provided. …The City’s dispatcher promptly relayed Block’s 911 report to the Dodge ...

“In order to interpret the statute as Gold requests us to do, we would have to rewrite the statute as: ‘Such salaries when so fixed may be increased but no part may be decreased by the council without a previous recommendation of the board.’ While we understand Gold’s concerns, we are not free to re-write the statutes. That task belongs ...

Stephen L. Wender and Sentry Insurance, defendants and third-party plaintiffs in the circuit court, appeal from an order granting summary judgment to the third-party defendant, Helena Mendrok, and dismissing Wender’s third-party complaint against her. Wender and Sentry argue that summary judgment was inappropriate because a jury could find that Mendrok’s negligence was a cause of plaintiff Donald P. Mueller’s injuries, ...

“Although Congress must act rationally when deciding which litigants must contribute toward the costs of the judicial system, we have already held, see Zehner v. Trigg, 133 F.3d 459 (7th Cir. 1997), that it is within the legislative power to place special limitations on prisoners’ litigation. Prisoners have ample time on their hands and have demonstrated a proclivity for frivolous ...

“We agree that towns have only the powers delegated to them, and they exercise zoning power pursuant to the general zoning statutes. [citation]. Nevertheless, § 293.41 is an express delegation to towns of the power to enter into local agreements with mining companies. Section 293.41 is also more recent and more specific than the general zoning statutes and therefore creates ...

“Even if we were to conclude that what Block communicated via his 911 call constituted a known, present danger, we would not necessarily hold that the dispatchers had forfeited any claim to immunity for their actions in response. Neither dispatcher failed to act on the information they were provided. …The City’s dispatcher promptly relayed Block’s 911 report to the Dodge ...

Shane Cook appeals a judgment of conviction and sentence for two counts of forgery-uttering, as a party to the crime to which he pleaded no contest. On appeal Cook contends the forgery charges must be dismissed with prejudice because the preliminary examination was not timely held and because his right to a speedy trial was violated. We conclude that by ...

This case is unusual, moreover, in that the risk of serious harm was not only, perhaps not even mainly, to Woodall, the person in custody, but also to Ridgway, the police officer. Unless Ridgway was suicidal or insane, neither of which possibility is suggested, he would not have failed to take additional precautions against the car crash and ensuing struggle ...

Kevin McCrary appeals from an order dismissing his complaint challenging a Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) decision. LIRC concluded that although McCrary was entitled to temporary disability payments for a back injury he suffered in March 1998, he was not entitled to permanent partial disability. We affirm the order. Not recommended for publication in the official reports. Dist III, ...

That is the holding of General Telephone and of course we have no authority to overrule decisions of the Supreme Court. The distinctions that Bemis urges are threadbare: General Telephone did not involve harassment, the EEOC here is not alleging an intentional company-wide pattern or practice of discrimination, and it is seeking compensatory and punitive damages rather than merely injunctive ...

The Calvary Covenant Church appeals an order admitting to probate the 1992 will of Ebba Erickson. The church argues that the trial court erroneously admitted the 1992 will to probate because (1) it was barred by estoppel and laches; (2) Marie Nyquist, a niece and heir under the will, should not have been permitted to testify; (3) Nyquist’s testimony was ...

“Vukadinovich failed to comply with Principal Larson’s directives. Principal Larson directed Vukadinovich to submit his lesson plan book and identify how it complied with state qualifications five times and also made Additional Directives to him. Vukadinovich refused to comply with at least three of these directives, made half-hearted attempts to comply with the other two, ignored Principal Larson’s Additional Directives, ...

Local 236 Laborers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO appeals a circuit court order which confirmed an arbitration decision concerning a grievance by Local 236 member Walter Dyer against his employer, the City of Madison, Engineering Division. The Union claims the arbitrator disregarded the plain language of the overtime pay provisions at issue. We disagree and affirm. This opinion will ...

“[T]he legislative history of the 1986 amendments, in particular that accompanying the whistleblower provision, makes it likely that the Congress, when voting on the amendments, was aware that the FCA might reach municipalities. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s report states that ‘[t]he False Claims Act reaches all parties who may submit false claims. The term “person” is used in its broad ...

Polk County appeals an order dismissing its complaint against Jeff and Dawn Blanski for violating Polk County, Wis., Shoreland Protection Zoning Ordinances, art. XII, sec. 12.3B (1991). The ordinance prohibits more than one dwelling on a property. A violation is punishable by a forfeiture. A jury found that the Blanskis had not violated the ordinance. The County argues that the ...

“It turns out that whoever wrote the Dictionary believes that basic literacy (defined as a vocabulary of 2,500 words, the ability to read about 100 words a minute, and the ability to print simple sentences) is essential for every job in the economy, and that janitors require a higher level (the ability to read about 200 words per minute). See ...

The plaintiffs in a personal injury action appeal a judgment dismissing their complaint. The issue is whether the circuit court properly granted summary judgment to the defendants because their allegedly negligent actions were discretionary acts of public officials and thus immune from suit. We conclude that they were and thus affirm. This opinion will not be published. Dist IV, Dane ...

“The evidence, which suggested the defendant was attempting to protect Hamas and Rezeq Saleh, came only in response and in answer to the defendant’s explanation. In the government’s case-in- chief, the evidence only explained the general nature of the grand jury investigation. Reference was again made to Hamas when the government presented evidence of the defendant’s refusal to testify on ...

Steven Derkson has appealed from a judgment awarding him $343,850 in damages and costs following a jury trial. Judgment was entered against the respondent, Troy Haarstick. The judgment dismissed Derkson’s claims against two other respondents, Holiday Inn Sun Spree Resort (the resort) and its insurer, Northbrook Property & Casualty. We affirm the judgment. This opinion will not be published. Dist ...

“Determining the forfeitable proceeds of an offense does not come within Apprendi’s rule, because there is no ‘prescribed statutory maximum’ and no risk that the defendant has been convicted de facto of a more serious offense. Section 853(a) is open-ended; all property representing the proceeds of drug offenses is forfeitable. Forfeiture has long been a civil remedy as well as ...

Carrie K. Elmer appeals a judgment of conviction entered after a jury found her guilty of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. At trial, Elmer attempted to show that she had not operated the vehicle and that, instead, she had switched seats with the intoxicated driver after police had stopped them. ...