A jury awarded a Wisconsin-based graphic artist $3,980,533.30 in damages for infringed illustrations.

13-1560 Batson v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.

3:11-cv-00626 Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc., v. Lew

12-3306 DeKeyser v. Thyssenkurpp Waupaca, Inc.

12-2339 & 12-2354 Silverman v. Motorola Solutions, Inc.

12-2561 Johnson v. Koppers, Inc.

2012AP2196 Weissman v. Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc.

12-1369, 12-1967, 12-1979, 12-2008 & 12-2891 Leveski v. ITT Educational Services, Inc.

12-10 AID v. Alliance for Open Society International, Inc.

11-697 Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

12-1774 Ray v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc.

12-1875 Begolli v. Home Depot, U.S.A., Inc.

2011AP2596 Ansul, Inc., v. Employers Insurance Co. of Wausau

11-2464 Planned Parenthood of Indiana, Inc., v. Commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health

11-2112 In re Fort Wayne Telsat, Inc.

10-1194 Bielskis v. Louisville Ladder, Inc.

Employment Race discrimination

Civil Rights Foreclosure

Bankruptcy Utility bills

Civil Procedure Subject matter jurisdiction

Employment Contempt

Intellectual Property Patents; induced infringement Induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. 271(b) requires knowledge that the induced acts constitute patent infringement. Induced infringement was not considered a separate theory of indirect liability in the pre-1952 case law, but was treated as evidence of “contributory infringement,” i.e., the aiding and abetting of direct infringement by another party. When Congress enacted §271,it separated ...

United States District Court CIVIL OPINIONS Constitutional Law Right to bear arms A lawsuit alleging that the Wisconsin Gun Free School Zone Act violates the right to bear arms states a claim for relief. “[T]he amended complaint asserts that Greenfield, through a letter from its police chief, warned plaintiff Plautz and his guests that they risked arrest and prosecution for ...

Beyond being a dedicated advocate of civil legal services for the poor, attorney Jim Botsford is a devout Bob Dylan fan.

Tax Property taxes; highest and best use Even if there are no sales of comparable properties anywhere in the country, the property tax assessor can still value the property’s highest and best use based on its current use. “We find the Commission’s conclusion that the Gateway Plant’s highest and best use is as its continued use as a powdered infant ...

Employment Overtime wages The DWD’s method of calculating overtime pay for salaried employees is correct. “The department’s calculation methodology is consistent with the statutory and code requirements that an employee be paid time and one-half the regular rate for hours worked in excess of forty hours per week. See Wis. Stat. § 103.025(1)(c); Wis. Admin. Code § DWD 274.03. The ...

Tax Uniformity clause Where a municipality assessed one taxpayer using the income approach when it could have similarly reassessed all comparable properties, the assessment violated the Uniformity Clause. “There is no dispute that Furdek used the income method to reassess the property. In preparation for the Board of Review hearing, Furdek reviewed U.S. Oil’s initial $6 million assessments for 2004 ...

Torts Forest fires; damages Section 26.21 does not mandate that double damages be awarded in situations where a private owner’s property is destroyed by a forest fire which occurred though negligence. “The legislature’s use of the words ‘may’ in subsection (1) and ‘shall’ in subsection (2) in describing the liability of an individual responsible for causing a forest fire demonstrates ...

Suing the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) is a viable remedy for wrongfully seizing goods under the civil forfeiture laws.

Professional Responsibility Choice of law Wisconsin’s rules governing conflicts of interest do not apply in federal court. “Despite the lack of a clear holding in this circuit, I agree with defendants that federal law is controlling. As a general matter, federal courts apply state law to ‘substantive’ questions when state law created the underlying cause of action. Bevolo v. Carter, ...