The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted the petition for review in Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, the case surrounding the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s decision not to deactivate the registrations of Wisconsin voters who had recently moved. Background Wis. Stat. § 6.50(3) provides that, if a municipal clerk or “board of election commissioners” receives information […]
Supreme Court Accepts Voter Registration Case, Other New Cases
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 2:03pm By Hamilton
Wisconsin Courts COVID-19 Task Force Releases Final Report
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:43pm By Hamilton
In late April, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack convened a statewide taskforce to address COVID-19 in the Wisconsin courts system. On May 15, that task force released its final report making recommendations for courts to safely restart in-person proceedings and jury trials. Generally, the report recommends counties establish […]
Emer’s Camper Corral, LLC v. Alderman (Negligent Procurement)
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:37pm By Hamilton
In Emer’s Camper Corral, LLC v. Alderman (2020 WI 46), the Supreme Court held 6-1 that plaintiffs claiming negligent procurement by an insurance agent must establish that the desired policy was both commercially available and that the insured would have qualified for it. Decision After Camper Corral, a business that sells campers, had twice previously filed […]
Correa v. Woodman’s Food Market (Safe Place Statute)
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:32pm By Hamilton
In Correa v. Woodman’s Food Market (2020 WI 43), a 6-0 Wisconsin Supreme Court held that plaintiffs in safe place statute cases need not prove the exact moment an unsafe condition existed, as long as they can prove the condition existed for long enough for the defendant to have had constructive notice. In this case, […]
Curtiss v. Ellery (Personal Injury)
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:29pm By Hamilton
In Curtiss v. Ellery (2019AP1088), the Court of Appeals District IV found that the defendant did not establish there were no issues of material fact, so the plaintiff’s negligence claim could proceed. Plaintiff Curtiss was injured on a bus driven by Ellery and filed this lawsuit claiming negligence. Ellery moved for summary judgement arguing that […]
Kemper Independence Insurance Co. v. Islami (Insurance Coverage)
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:27pm By Hamilton
* This case is recommended for publication. In Kemper Independence Insurance Co. v. Islami (2019AP488), the Court of Appeals District II agreed with an insurer that coverage was not due to an innocent insured when another insured on the policy committed fraud. The Islamis were legally separated, though they still lived together. Ydbi Islami […]
Price v. American International Group, Inc. (Negligence & Safe Place Statute)
Date Mon, Jun. 1, 2020 - 12:22pm By Hamilton
In Price v. American International Group, Inc. (2019AP57), the Court of Appeals District I held that WE Energies was not liable for an injury to an employee of an independent contractor. WE Energies contracted with International Chimney Corporation (ICC) for the demolition of a chimney at WE Energies’s power plant. Ironworker and ICC employee Price […]
Study Finds Federal Davis-Bacon Act Increases Costs, Limits Competition in Wisconsin
Date Fri, May. 29, 2020 - 6:13am By Hamilton
A new study from Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), partnering with Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin (ABC), shows the federal Davis-Bacon Act increases costs while limiting competition for construction jobs in Wisconsin. The Davis-Bacon Act, enacted in 1931, requires construction companies to provide a federally mandated “prevailing wage” on projects funded by […]
Wisconsin COVID-19 Response Post-Safer at Home
Date Thu, May. 28, 2020 - 4:32pm By Hamilton
A few weeks after the Wisconsin Supreme Court invalidated the state’s “Safer at Home” emergency order, state and local leaders continue to grapple with the ongoing pandemic and economic recovery. The Department of Health Services (DHS) has declined to promulgate Safer at Home as a statewide rule and instead some local health departments have orders […]
Latest Resignations from the Wisconsin Legislature
Date Thu, May. 28, 2020 - 4:21pm By Hamilton
Sen. Dave Craig (R-Big Bend) is the latest legislator to announce he will not run for reelection in November. Craig was elected to the Assembly in May 2011 and moved to the Senate in 2016. Former Senate Majority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse), who had previously announced she would not run for reelection and resigned […]