In Welter v. LIRC (2018AP1940), the Court of Appeals District III held that the plaintiff’s surgery was not compensable under Worker’s Compensation because her workplace injury had healed before the surgery. Plaintiff Susan Welter served as a school bus monitor for Student Transit – Eau Claire. Welter had a knee replacement in 2003. In 2013, […]
Gunderson v. Franks (Personal Injury)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:29pm By Hamilton
In Gunderson v. Franks (2018AP981), the Court of Appeals District IV upheld a jury verdict on damages to a plaintiff involved in a vehicle accident. The plaintiff challenged the jury’s decisions on future damages and whether the court should have provided instruction on the collateral source rule. Plaintiff Gunderson was injured in a vehicle accident […]
Mechanical, Inc. v. Venture Electrical Contractors, Inc. (Economic Loss Doctrine)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:28pm By Hamilton
*This case is recommended for publication. In Mechanical, Inc. v. Venture Electrical Contractors, Inc. (2018AP2380), the Court of Appeals District II held the economic loss doctrine bars a negligence claim from a subcontractor against another subcontractor with whom there was no contract. The economic loss doctrine is a judicially created doctrine typically barring lawsuits […]
Oneida County v. Sunflower Prop II, LLC (Pier Construction Permitting)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:27pm By Hamilton
*This case is recommended for publication. In Oneida County v. Sunflower Prop II, LLC (2018AP2366), the Court of Appeals District III held that Wisconsin permit exemption laws for piers under Wis. Stat. §30.12(1g)(f) preempt municipal ordinances. The court remanded to the circuit court as to whether the plaintiff’s pier in this case met the […]
Whittlesey v. LIRC (Unemployment Insurance)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:25pm By Hamilton
In Whittlesey v. LIRC (2018AP2164), the Court of Appeals District IV held that the plaintiff was eligible for unemployment benefits because he had good cause to terminate his employment. Plaintiff Whittlesey worked for a restaurant for approximately two years before he terminated his employment because he “believed the work environment was hostile and insensitive to […]
Martinez v. Regent Insurance Co. (Slip and Fall)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:24pm By Hamilton
In Martinez v. Regent Insurance Co. (2018AP1685), the Court of Appeals District IV denied a new trial for the plaintiff in this slip and fall case. Jose Martinez slipped and fell at the Country Kitchen restaurant and filed this lawsuit seeking damages for his injuries. On appeal, Martinez argued that Country Kitchen had destroyed evidence, […]
Pennell v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. (Jury Instructions)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:23pm By Hamilton
*This case is recommended for publication. In Pennell v. American Family Mutual Insurance Co. (2019AP170), the Court of Appeals District II held that the jury in this personal injury case did not receive proper instructions on causation and pre-existing conditions and awarded the plaintiff a new trial. Monica Pennell was injured in a car […]
Southport Commons, LLC v. DOT (Inverse Condemnation)
Date Tue, Apr. 28, 2020 - 4:21pm By Hamilton
*This case is recommended for publication. In Southport Commons, LLC v. DOT (2019AP130), the Court of Appeals District II held that claimants must file against the Department of Transportation (DOT) within three years after damage from DOT construction occurs, not after damage is discovered, according to Wis. Stat. § 88.87(2)(c). Southport filed this lawsuit […]
Wisconsin Civil Justice Council, Business Coalition Call for Additional Liability Protections to Help Reopen and Restart the Wisconsin Economy
Date Mon, Apr. 27, 2020 - 11:25am By Hamilton
Wisconsin Civil Justice Council (WCJC) and a coalition of 40 Wisconsin businesses and chambers of commerce are calling for the Legislature to enact civil liability protections to help Wisconsin businesses as the state begins to reopen the economy. The Wall Street Journal recently editorialized calling for quick action, noting plaintiff attorneys are already targeting reopening […]
Fankhauser v. Hestad (Damages Award)
Date Wed, Apr. 8, 2020 - 3:42pm By Hamilton
In Fankhauser v. Hestad (2019AP110), the Court of Appeals District III upheld a $500,000 damages award against a garbage collector who was driving on a customer’s bridge when it collapsed. Curtis Hestad, an employee of Allied Waste Services, drove an Allied vehicle onto the Fankhausers’ property. The Fankhausers had instructed Allied to use the west […]