59 results for 'court:"Wisconsin Court of Appeals"'.
J. Gundrum finds the circuit court improperly granted defendant's motion for a new trial in a case in which he was convicted in 2001 of four counts related to his alleged sexual assault of his seven-year-old step-daughter on two occasions in 1998 and 1999. Defendant's confrontation clause challenge to the admission of out-of-court statements from his step-daughter and her younger brother and his claim that he was denied a fair trial by being unable to cross-examine a witness for the state regarding immunity he was granted for his testimony both fail, as the statements admitted at trial were either non-testimonial or ultimately harmless and, while the state and defendant agree the circuit court erred by keeping defendant from cross-examining the physician witness for the state, the error was also harmless in that it would not have meaningfully affected the outcome of the trial. On remand the circuit court is directed to reinstate defendant's 2013 amended judgment of conviction. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Gundrum, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 2021AP001590-CR, Categories: Confrontation, Sex Offender, Witnesses
J. Nashold finds the circuit court properly dismissed the advocacy group's petition for a writ of mandamus forcing the county register in probate to provide records the group claims would show a discrepancy between a list of ineligible voters maintained by the state elections commission and people considered incompetent to vote based on guardianship proceedings in the county. The group now concedes it is not entitled to most of the records it sought because court records related to incompetency proceedings are closed, but its argument that it is still entitled to notice of voter eligibility forms fails, as those forms are also clearly pertinent to incompetency proceedings. The group's argument of judicial bias based on the circuit court judge's comments about the group's "political" goals and reference to its petition as a "fishing expedition" also fails, in part because the group's selection of these quotes either omit the judge's full statements or important context in which they were made. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Nashold, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001794, Categories: Elections, Public Record
J. Gill finds the circuit court properly ruled in favor of the trust in its civil action challenging the town's decision that the trust's property was not exempt from property taxes. The circuit court properly applied de novo review and not certiorari review when considering the trust's challenge including new evidence that was not presented to the town or its assessor, and the circuit court correctly ruled that the trust had met its burden to show its property should be tax exempt, denied the town's motion for summary judgment and granted summary judgment to the trust. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Gill, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000185, Categories: Property, Tax
J. Kloppenburg finds the circuit court properly found for the city in a dispute with a California-based property owner over an order to raze a building on his Wisconsin property within 30 days because of its dangerous state of disrepair. The property owner has failed to bring evidence of disputed facts such that he is entitled to a jury trial, did not have his Fourth Amendment rights violated by a warrant for a special inspection of the building that was executed according to applicable law, and did not have a statutory right to attempt to repair the building instead of razing it because the cost of repairs would have exceeded 50% of the building's value. The circuit court's order granting summary judgment to the city and allowing the building to be razed at the property owner's expense stands. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Kloppenburg, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001683, Categories: Constitution, Government, Property
J. Nashold finds the circuit court properly ruled in the city's favor in a dispute from a property owner over the tax assessment of its luxury apartment building. The city complied with the Wisconsin Property Assessment Manual and did not violate statutes by assessing the value of the building, which was technically 72% vacant at the time, to be just over $17 million as compared to the owner's private assessor's $6 million assessment, including by taking into account future leases that were anticipated at the time and not using the 72% vacancy figure in its assessment. The city's assessment was not excessive, so the circuit court's judgment in its favor stands. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Nashold, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000507, Categories: Property, Tax
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J. White finds the circuit court properly dismissed the homeowner's negligence claim against the contractor over an electrical shock he received from an outlet in his home that one of the contractor's employees left unsecured. The circuit court correctly determined that the doctrine of "res ipsa loquitor" does not apply to the homeowner's case, in part because the circuit court's record shows he was negligent in failing to have another contractor or electrician secure the outlet after the contractor's construction project stalled, instead continuing to use the outlet anyway. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: White, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001154, Categories: Evidence, Negligence
J. Stark finds the circuit court properly denied the credit union's motion to compel arbitration in a class action lawsuit from a consumer claiming the credit union collected unlawful overdraft fees from its members. The credit union did not have contractual authority to add an arbitration clause to its membership agreement in 2021 and use it to attempt to compel arbitration and withdraw its members' right to participate in class action litigation, as that term was not part of the original contract at dispute. The consumer, who opened his account in 1991, also did not technically approve of the clause by not specifically opting out of its provisions and continuing to use his account, so it cannot be enforced against him. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Stark, Filed On: October 24, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000887, Categories: Arbitration, Class Action, Contract
J. Graham finds the circuit court properly determined that around $82,000 in funds in two joint accounts held by the daughter and her deceased father are the property of the father's estate, rebutting the statutory presumption that joint account funds go to the surviving party after one party's death. The estate provided clear and convincing evidence that the father intended to create "accounts of convenience" so the daughter could access the accounts' funds with his oversight and for his benefit, not joint accounts for which the daughter would be the sole beneficiary upon his death. The circuit court's decision on the estate funds was largely based on admissible evidence about the father's intentions for the accounts, and any erroneously admitted evidence did not significantly impact the proceeding's outcome. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Graham, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 2022AP002036, Categories: Wills / Probate, Contract
J. Blanchard finds the circuit court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence in his child pornography case based on police officers' violation of Wisconsin statutes setting a time limit for executing a search warrant once it is issued. The police did not violate the relevant statutes by taking almost two months to complete an off-site forensic analysis of a computer and other digital devices seized from defendant's home, as under the statutes the term "execute" applies to the physical search of a place and seizure of items, and the police satisfied the statute's five-day deadline to execute a search warrant by searching defendant's home three days after the warrant was issued. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Blanchard, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 2022AP002060-CR, Categories: Evidence, Search, Child Pornography
J. Lazar finds partially in favor of the tenant in a lawsuit from its landlord stemming from multiple contract disputes associated with severe flooding and related damages the tenant's administrative office building suffered from floodwater during a "historic storm" in 2018. Under the plain language of the parties' lease agreement, the landlord is responsible for the costs of repairs and remediation of the flood damage, including to alterations, additions and improvements the tenant made to the property. While the circuit court also correctly found the tenant was entitled to rent abatement until repairs to the building were complete and it was "tenantable," its summary judgment order in favor of the tenant on this issue must be reversed because it did not consider factual disputes over the condition of the entire four-story space as pertains to how much rent abatement the tenant is entitled to for the roughly two months between when an inspector issued conditional and final certificates of occupancy. Affirmed in part.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Lazar, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 2021AP002149, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Contract
J. Graham finds the circuit court properly granted summary judgment to the city in a lawsuit from trade associations seeking to enjoin enforcement of a zoning ordinance requiring the use of bird-safe glass for constructing or expanding certain types of buildings to reduce the risk of bird collisions. The city's valid zoning ordinance does not fall under the scope of a statewide administrative code barring local governments from enacting or enforcing minimum building code standards that are stricter than the statewide code in terms of altering, constructing or adding to some public and commercial buildings, so it is not technically a building code standard and is not preempted. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Graham, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001468, Categories: Administrative Law, Zoning
[Consolidated] J. Gill finds the circuit court improperly denied defendant's motions to dismiss 17 felony bail jumping charges he faced in his consolidated cases across at least three counties. In part because defendant's alleged bail jumping offenses were committed after he had been released from jail and re-arrested on a bench warrant but before he had returned to court, he no longer technically qualified as "having been released from custody" under Wisconsin's bail statutes, as a bench warrant being issued is among the types of court actions establishing that a defendant is no longer "released from custody." The circuit court's non-final orders are overturned and the case is remanded to dismiss the 17 bail jumping counts. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Gill, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000658-CR, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Bail, Obstruction
J. Hruz finds the circuit court properly denied the state's motion to dismiss a civil forfeiture action brought against the citizen seeking seizure of a pole barn and other real estate he allegedly used to sell drugs. Contrary to the argument that the circuit court lost competency to handle the forfeiture action because it did not hold a hearing within 60 days of the citizen's answer to the state's complaint, the relevant statute automatically adjourns forfeiture actions until after a defendant is convicted of a crime related to the basis for the seizure of property. Therefore, the 60-day hearing deadline in the statutes cannot reasonably begin until after such a conviction, and that deadline had not begun for the citizen because he had not been convicted of any of the underlying drug felonies related to the seizure as plea negotiations were ongoing. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Hruz, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 2021AP001849, Categories: Civil Procedure, Forfeiture
J. Hruz finds the circuit court properly granted summary judgment to the hospital, doctor and insurance companies in the patient's medical malpractice lawsuit over injuries she suffered during a biopsy performed with informed consent she claims she gave only after being given Valium and hydrocodone. Under the current legal framework, the hospital cannot be held liable because no one but the patient's treating physician carries a duty of ordinary care and liability as regards ensuring the patient is capable of giving informed consent. This makes the patient's claim of negligence regarding the nurse who administered her Valium and hydrocodone before her mother ultimately had to sign her informed consent form is "too remote" from her injuries and barred by public policy. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Hruz, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 2023AP001694, Categories: Negligence, Medical Malpractice
J. Grogan finds in favor of the state in defendant's appeal of his sentence on child pornography charges. There is no conflict between the statutes defendant cites that would prevent the circuit court from imposing the three-year mandatory minimum sentence for the one count he pleaded guilty to as part of a plea deal, in part because the age-related exception to the mandatory minimum does not apply to him. Defendant has also failed to demonstrate any equal protection issue based on inconsistent application of the relevant sentencing provisions statewide. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Grogan, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 2021AP002001-CR, Categories: Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. Neubauer finds in favor of the city in a dispute from a sanitary district over license fees the city charged as part of an agreement for the city to treat and dispose of wastewater from the district and other municipal entities. The facts show the annual license fee charged by the city is valid and enforceable and the statutes cited by the district either do not apply to the fees or do not preclude the city from charging them. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Neubauer, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001649, Categories: Municipal Law, Contract
J. Lazar finds the circuit court properly ruled in favor of the town and the town's insurance company in a lawsuit a citizen filed after he broke his clavicle in a bicycle crash on what he claims was a negligently maintained town road. The circuit court correctly determined that the citizen's lawsuit, filed 11 months after he first filed a claim with the town, is barred by a six-month statute of limitations. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Lazar, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000198, Categories: Civil Procedure, Damages, Negligence
J. Stark finds that the lower court improperly found in favor of the widow for her lawsuit alleging that the agricultural service is liable for the death of her husband, who fell into a gravity-operated hopper trailer that was attached to a semi-tractor and was smothered by the trailer’s cargo of corn gluten, which came from the agricultural service. The husband's death falls under a motor vehicle accident because the tractor-trailer was designed mainly to transport property on highways, even if it was not on a highway at the time of the husband's death. Also, the widow's negligence claim is not timely because it was filed over two years after the estate's cause of action accrued.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Stark, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 2022AP1346, Categories: Negligence, Wrongful Death
J. Lazar finds the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment to the insurance company in the dairy farm's lawsuit over magnesium deficiencies injuring its cattle due to issues with feed it was provided by the cattle feed supplier. The circuit court incorrectly determined that the farm had failed to show the injuries to its herd were an "occurrence" causing "property damage" which triggers coverage under the feed supplier's insurance policies, and liability could be plausibly established if it is proven the substitution of an ingredient in the feed caused the injuries. The circuit court's order is overturned, and the case is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Lazar, Filed On: July 26, 2023, Case #: 2021AP000670, Categories: Agriculture, Insurance, Contract
J. Stark finds the circuit court correctly used its discretion to grant the property owner a default judgment against the zoning appeals board for failing to timely respond to his complaint for certiorari review of the board's denial of his appeal of its decision finding that two cabins next to his property did not fit the definition of a "resort" under county zoning ordinances. The property owner followed proper civil procedure by filing a summons and complaint with the circuit court and serving the board with those documents, and the circuit court applied the proper standard of law by entering a default judgment when the board failed to timely file a responsive pleading. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Stark, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001577, Categories: Civil Procedure, Zoning
J. Donald finds the circuit court improperly found for the auto parts recycling company in a lawsuit claiming it violated state consumer protection law by making fraudulent misrepresentations about the parts it sold, according to hundreds of consumer complaints. The plain language of the relevant Wisconsin statute involving false or deceptive statements or advertisements does not hold that the allegedly harmed consumer must live in Wisconsin, so the circuit court incorrectly concluded it does not apply to misrepresentations made by a Wisconsin business to consumers outside the state. The circuit court also erred when it determined the state must prove a monetary loss to support its claims under the statute. The case is remanded for a new trial, and the company's cross-appeal seeking costs is dismissed as moot. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Donald, Filed On: July 25, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000788, Categories: Fraud, Consumer Law
J. Brash finds the circuit court properly dismissed the claims in the employee's lawsuit stemming from the utility company's medical professional sharing his personal health information in circulated paper copies and on the company's intranet after the employee consulted the professional about physical and emotional issues from "constant fear" he felt that he would be infected with Covid-19 because his coworkers refused to comply with the company's mask policy. The circuit court properly concluded that the employee's negligent training and supervision claim is barred by a provision in the Wisconsin Consumer Act making the Act the exclusive remedy for such a claim against his employer, and it also properly found his invasion of privacy claim was preempted by the federal Labor Management Relations Act and his collective bargaining agreement. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Brash, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001536, Categories: Privacy, Covid-19, Labor / Unions
J. Kloppenburg finds the police officer unconstitutionally seized defendant at his home without a warrant while investigating whether he was responsible for a nearby hit-and-run accident. The officer unlawfully seized defendant without probable cause when he refused to stop questioning him at his doorway after defendant told him he wanted to stop the interview and commanded defendant to accompany him to the scene of the accident so a witness could identify him, after which defendant was driven home, handcuffed and subjected to a warranted blood draw that found him to be intoxicated. Defendant is entitled to suppression of all evidence stemming from his unlawful seizure, including every statement he made after the officer refused to stop questioning him, the witness's identification of him both at the scene of the accident and in court, and the results of the blood draw. The circuit court's denial of defendant's motion to suppress and judgment of conviction are overturned, and the case is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Kloppenburg, Filed On: July 13, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000450-CR, Categories: Constitution, Search, Dui
J. Dugan finds the circuit court improperly dismissed the park advocacy group's two petitions for judicial review challenging the natural resources department's approval of a plan to build a new snowmobile trail in a state park, which the group did in part because the department inadequately considered the environmental impacts of the trail. The group, as a Chapter 181 corporation under Wisconsin law with a written agreement with the department to operate as a "friends group" to use its efforts to assist and support the department and the state park, has both the capacity and standing to sue the department, neither of which it has waived, and neither of which are barred by the details of its articles of incorporation. The circuit court's decisions are overturned and the matter is remanded for further proceedings. Reversed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Dugan, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 2022AP001127, Categories: Administrative Law, Environment
J. Blanchard finds partially in favor of the consumer in his dispute with the creditor over collection efforts for a $500 loan with a 399% annual percentage interest rate. The circuit court improperly dismissed the consumer's good faith counterclaim, as at least one set of allegations in the counterclaim regarding violations of notice of right to cure requirements is sufficiently pleaded under the Wisconsin Consumer Act, and the circuit court's order is reversed for those allegations. The circuit court also improperly dismissed the consumer's unconscionability counterclaim under the Act, as the creditor's initial filing of its lawsuit attempting to collect the balance of the loan plus nearly $2,000 in interest and fees triggered the potential for such a claim, and it does not matter that the creditor successfully moved for voluntary dismissal of its claim, though the circuit court's voluntary dismissal decision is upheld. Reversed in part.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Blanchard, Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000746, Categories: Consumer Law, Contract
J. Stark finds in favor of the town in a dispute from residents asking for a mandamus order forcing the town to act on its petition to either get the town to adopt their proposed boating ordinance related to concerns over hazardous wakes in town waterways or put the ordinance to a vote with electors. The circuit court correctly denied the residents' mandamus petition, as the relevant Wisconsin direct legislation statute does not apply to towns and does not give the residents the authority to order the town to act on its ordinance petition. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Stark, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000720, Categories: Government, Municipal Law
J. White finds defendant has failed to prove his counsel violated his Sixth Amendment rights by failing to advocate for him according to his will at his trial over his alleged sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl, which he was convicted of and received a 15-year split sentence. In part because the record shows defendant admitted to his counsel that he touched the girl inadvertently and never explicitly told counsel to argue his absolute innocence, and he also cannot show she conceded his guilt in her closing argument that pointed out inconsistencies in his testimony, the circuit court correctly found no Sixth Amendment violations and denied defendant's motion for a new trial. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: White, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: 2021AP001705-CR, Categories: Constitution, Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender
J. Graham finds in favor of the truck driver and labor commission in a lawsuit from a concrete company challenging the commission's findings for the truck driver in proceedings he began after the company refused to accommodate his severe back pain by assigning him to a different kind of truck, then constructively fired him when he would not work until he was accommodated. Based on the facts in the record, including from the commission's proceedings, the company discriminated against the driver over his disability in violation of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act by immediately and steadfastly shutting down his reasonable accommodation request despite it being on notice that he had a disabling condition preventing him from safely doing his job. The circuit court's ruling affirming the commission's decision in part ordering the driver reinstated and awarding him back pay is upheld, and the matter is remanded for the circuit court to award him attorney fees. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Graham, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 2021AP002028, Categories: Employment, Attorney Fees, Labor
J. Neubauer finds that in at least two instances the trial court should have found defendant's lawyer performed deficiently at his client's trial over claims from a teenage girl that defendant repeatedly sexually assaulted her over the course of four years while he was dating her mother. In addition to two other instances in which the state concedes defendant's lawyer's performance was deficient in not objecting to references to the victim's virginity and her mother testifying that the victim's brother said he heard "monkey noises" in the house in reference to the alleged assaults, he was deficient in failing to object to testimony from a counselor and an investigator about the rarity of false sexual assault accusations, but given the weight of the other evidence none of these errors unduly prejudiced defendant. Therefore, defendant's lawyer did not ultimately provide ineffective assistance, and the circuit court properly denied his motion for post-conviction relief. Affirmed.
Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Judge: Neubauer, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 2022AP000382-CR, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Sex Offender