The law sometimes works in mysterious ways.

See how the state’s circuit court judges fared when their decisions were reviewed in the Court of Appeals, and how the judges fared if their decisions were later reviewed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

If dictionaries were written by lawyers, one of the definitions for “frustration” would say “finding a case directly on point, but being unable to cite it because it is unpublished.”

Parties can appeal a circuit court’s ruling on insurance coverage issue, even though liability has not been established at trial.

Even though a contractor negligently installed a new window in an office building, and the property owner had no notice of the defect, the owner also is responsible for a worker’s injuries that resulted from the negligence.

More than three years ago, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that an employee’s discrimination claim under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act is not barred, even though federal courts have already rejected the same claim based on federal law.

Wisconsin Court of Appeals CIVIL PUBLISHED Employment Discrimination; issue preclusion Where a discrimination claim filed with the EEOC was found untimely, the same claim filed with the ERD is also untimely. “Here, Aldrich was represented by counsel in the federal proceedings and could have sought review of the federal court decision. The question of law in both the federal and ...

On May 11, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the trial court’s ruling must be affirmed unless it is clearly erroneous.

Torts Medical malpractice; informed consent Ty Rubedor appeals a judgment and order following a jury verdict finding in favor of Dr. Douglas Kopp on Rubedor’s claim that Dr. Kopp failed to adequately obtain his informed consent prior to performing a medical procedure on his heart. Rubedor contends that the circuit court erred in limiting the admission of evidence relating to ...

Property Misrepresentation; property condition report; economic loss doctrine Daniel and Suzanne Thelen entered into an agreement with the Thomas and Delores Cremer Revocable Trust for the purchase of commercial property. As part of that agreement, the Thelens received a condition report signed by Delores Cremer stating that, to the extent past remodeling had occurred, the proper permits had been obtained. ...

Civil Commitment Treatment; fifth standard Civil commitment is available under the fifth standard for individuals who have dual diagnoses — a diagnosis of mental illness and, in addition, a diagnosis of either drug dependency or developmental disability. “We agree with the County and the circuit court. Reading Wis. Stat. § 51.20(1)(a)1. together with the fifth standard, the only reasonable meaning ...

Criminal Procedure Speedy trial The State appeals from an order dismissing the criminal prosecution against Mary K. Benz due to the denial of Benz’s right to a speedy trial. The State argues it should not be faulted for the bulk of the delay and that, on balance, Benz was not prejudiced.  We disagree with the State and affirm the order ...

Motor Vehicles OWI; reasonable suspicion Allen L. Resch appeals from his third offense conviction of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in violation of Wis. Stat. §§ 346.63(1)(a) and 346.65(2)(am)3.  Specifically, Resch appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion to suppress the initial stop and the imposition of field sobriety tests.  The issues on appeal are (1) whether the ...

Property Bailments Plymouth Glass Co., LLC appeals from a small claims judgment.  The circuit court entered a replevin judgment in favor of 2671 LLC after it found that Plymouth Glass failed to return a set of glass panels to 2671 LLC.  When the glass panels could not be returned, the court granted 2671 LLC a monetary judgment.  Plymouth Glass argues ...

Civil Commitment Alzheimer’s disease Alzheimer’s disease is not a qualifying mental condition for commitment pursuant to Chapter 51. “[T]he primary purpose of Wis. Stat. ch. 51 is to provide treatment and rehabilitation services for the individuals described in ch. 51’s legislative policy.  Wis. Stat. § 51.001.  Even if we were to assume, which we do not, that Alzheimer’s disease could ...

Sexually Violent Persons Discharge hearings A research paper contending that sex offenders are less likely to recommit as they get older is insufficient to entitle a sexually violent person to a discharge hearing. “Richard argues that Combs held that a new actuarial table by itself is enough to demonstrate that an offender is no longer a sexually violent person. This ...

1st-degree reckless homicide Intervening cause Termination of life support is not a defense to homicide. Under Wisconsin law, whether the intervening act was negligent, intentional and/or legally wrongful is irrelevant.  The analysis is the same. The State must still prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant’s acts were a substantial factor in producing the death.  Therefore, the trial court’s ...

Criminal Procedure Ineffective assistance of counsel It was not ineffective assistance of counsel for an attorney representing a defendant charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, not to object to the submission to the jury of recklessly endangering safety while armed as a lesser included offense. “The recklessly endangering safety instruction stated that the offense has ‘three elements’: 1. The defendant ...

Parole and Probation Revocation Adam Howard, pro se, appeals an order of the circuit court affirming a Division of Hearings and Appeals decision sustaining revocation of his parole.  We conclude that the Division’s decision was appropriate and we affirm the circuit court. Affirmed. This opinion will not be published. 2009AP3058 State ex rel. Howard v. Schwarz Dist. I, Milwaukee County, ...

Property Shoreland zoning A property owner could properly rely on a county’s zoning map to identify the ordinary high water mark of a lake and determine that a proposed sign was outside the county’s zone of shoreland authority. “While the County attempts to shift the inquiry to measurements of the 1,000 foot line, the proper focus rests on identification of ...

Insurance Property damage Allen Balsiger appeals a summary judgment determining his maintenance of the Town of Lafayette’s property record cards was not “property damage,” and therefore, no coverage existed under his American Family Mutual Insurance Company policy. Balsiger asserts the circuit court erred by granting summary judgment because there was “property damage,” the damage was an “occurrence,” and policy exclusions ...

Criminal Procedure Law of the case The State appeals an order suppressing the contents of Anthony Crawford’s duffel bag.  In a previous appeal State v. Crawford, No. 2008AP2472-CR, unpublished slip op. (WI App June 23, 2009), this court reversed Crawford’s conviction and directed the circuit court to suppress evidence seized after Crawford’s unlawful arrest. The State dismissed the case and ...

Evidence Other acts; expert testimony Joseph Evans appeals from a judgment of conviction for the first-degree intentional homicide of his estranged wife and criminal damage to property.  Evans challenges the admissibility of other acts evidence and expert testimony.  We reject Evans’ arguments and affirm. Affirmed. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP1294-CR State v. Evans Dist. III, Marinette County, Duket, ...

1st-degree Intentional Homicide Sufficiency of the evidence Deangelo J. Johnson appeals from a judgment of conviction entered on a jury’s verdict, on one count of first-degree intentional homicide. He contends there is insufficient evidence to support the verdict. We reject this argument and affirm. Affirmed. This opinion will not be published. 2010AP1567-CR State v. Johnson Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Donald, ...

Motor Vehicles OWI; prior convictions George McGee appeals a judgment convicting him of operating while intoxicated (OWI), fourth offense, and an order denying his motion to collaterally attack one of his prior OWI convictions. Specifically, McGee contends his second OWI conviction cannot be used to enhance his sentence because he did not validly waive his constitutional right to an attorney ...

Search and Seizure Cartilage Where an officer entered a home’s attached garage uninvited, the fruits of the search must be suppressed. “We see no conflict between the Edgeberg and Leutenegger tests. Leutenegger effectively applies the Edgeberg test to the limited circumstance of an attached garage. As a general matter, it is unacceptable for a member of the public to enter ...

Civil Banking Persons who only received solicitations, but no services, from a mortgage broker cannot recover damages from the surety posted by the broker. “We conclude that the members of the Privacy Class are not ‘persons to whom [All Cities] provided services,’ and, therefore, Hartford is not required to pay the judgment rendered against All Cities under the plain terms ...

Employment Worker’s compensation; default judgment Default judgment is unavailable to plaintiffs in worker’s compensation actions when the employer has timely answered. “[W]e first note that nowhere does the statute provide for default judgment.  Additionally, § 102.23(1)(e) expressly provides that the administrative order at issue may only be set aside for the following grounds:  (1) that the Commission acted without or ...

An insurer’s right to “pay and walk” – pay the limits of its liability and leave the insured to defend himself against any excess judgment – does not depend on whether the insurer might be able to able to obtain a better result, or on the insurer’s motives. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held on April 5, “the simple and ...

A little while back, I was informed that somebody who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers had injured himself playing basketball and would be out for the beginning of the baseball season, if not longer.