83 results for 'court:"USDC Western District of Wisconsin"'.
J. Conley denies the state military affairs department's motion for summary judgment in the federal government's lawsuit on behalf of an employee claiming the department discriminated against her by offering her a lower salary for a promotion than the male applicant it ultimately hired for the position. There is enough evidence in the record at this point for a reasonable jury to find that the employee's sex motivated the department to use pretexts to offer her a $78,000 salary, which was below the posted minimum of $79,040, then offer her the minimum and pay the male applicant it hired $85,000 for the same job when she turned it down. The employee's motion to file a sur-reply brief is granted.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv60, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment Discrimination
J. Peterson grants summary judgment to the state elections commission, municipal clerks and Wisconsin Legislature in a lawsuit from four voters citing the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act to challenge the state's requirement that a U.S. adult citizen witness and certify the casting of an absentee ballot. The voter's claims under the Acts fail, in part because they have not shown that federal law, state law or U.S. Supreme Court precedent prevent a state from exercising its authority over absentee-voting conduct with a witness requirement. The Legislature's motion to stay the lawsuit pending resolution of two related state-court lawsuits is denied, as orders and judgments in those cases will be unaffected by the order in the voters' case.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: May 9, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv672, NOS: Voting - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Elections
J. Conley denies the construction company's motion to dismiss claims from a class action from employees in part alleging they were not paid their full pay rate or overtime wages for time spent loading trucks and driving to and from job sites. The company's motion to dismiss the employees' state-law claims based on an argument of preemption under the Labor Management Relations Act is premature. The company's motion to stay proceedings pending resolution of a union grievance is denied, as it's not clear how intertwined the grievance and the lawsuit are such that the lawsuit needs to be stayed. The employees' motion to strike the company's reply brief is denied.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv461, NOS: Fair Labor Standards Act - Labor, Categories: Employment, Labor / Unions
J. Conley grants the food packager's motion for summary judgment in the kosher food company's breach of contract lawsuit, in which the company claims the packager refused to honor the parties' pricing and product agreement and the packager counterclaims $51,000 in outstanding invoices. The company's claims fail in part because of the clear language in a valid release clause in one of the parties' agreements relieving the packager of liability, which the company cannot prove it signed under duress. The packager prevails on its counterclaim for the unpaid invoices, and the company is ordered to pay the packager $56,421.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv115, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract
J. Peterson finds in favor of the farm equipment retailer in a lawsuit it filed asking for an injunction to block the tractor manufacturer from terminating the retailer's dealership agreement due to lagging sales in its Wisconsin market share. The retailer has shown a likelihood of success on the merits under Wisconsin's Fair Dealership Law and potential irreparable harm to its business if the dealership agreement is terminated while the lawsuit is pending, so it is entitled to a preliminary injunction. The manufacturer is enjoined from terminating the agreement, but the parties will be given until April 26, 2024, to submit briefs making arguments for the proper amount of bond the retailer should put up to secure the injunction, in part because the manufacturer's ask for a $2.4 million bond is based on projected losses that are not credible.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 3:24cv23, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract, Injunction
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J. Peterson grants the U.S. government officials' motion to dismiss the husband and wife's lawsuit asking the court to compel the officials to finish adjudicating a family-based visa petition conditionally approved in 2022 for the wife, who is a citizen of Uganda. Given controlling case law, the husband and wife have not proven their 18-month wait for a consular interview is unreasonable, in part due to evidence in the record of backlogs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv520, NOS: Other Immigration Actions - Immigration, Categories: Administrative Law, Immigration, Covid-19
J. Peterson considered multiple claims for relief asserted by a Michigan attorney surrounding his involvement in an immigrant investment program; only one survives. The court finds his claims of fraud and breach of contract lack specificity and are time-barred, respectively, but his complaint of alleged conversion is supported. The court grants him additional time to amend the conversion claim.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 25, 2024, Case #: 23cv511, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Conversion, Contract
J. Peterson grants a retailer’s motion for preliminary injunction in this contract matter. The retailer is a dealer of Kubota Tractor products. Kubota Tractor wishes to terminate the parties’ dealer agreement, as it finds the retailer is not meeting the requirements of the agreement including sales quotas and advertising requirements. The retailer seeks to keep the agreement in force, arguing the discontinuation of the dealership would mean the potential closure of its stores. The instant court finds the retailer has established it is entitled to a preliminary injunction and thereby grants it.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 24cv23, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Business Practices, Contract
J. Peterson enters default judgment in favor of an employee. An employee alleges her employer fired her because she became pregnant and did not want to allow her to take medical leave. Because the the employer failed to appear or respond to the complaint, and because the employee has made plausible claims, the instant court finds in favor of the employee awarding her $150,176 in damages, as well as attorney fees and costs.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23cv442, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Damages, Employment Retaliation
J. Conley denies health care providers' motion to dismiss an estate's claims. A man hung himself with a bedsheet and died in his cell, while in the custody of the county jail. The estate filed a lawsuit against the court, jail employees, and healthcare providers who treated the decedent, but later amended the complaint to include additional health care providers. The providers motioned to dismiss the matter claiming the estate did not exercise due diligence in identifying all of the decedent's health care providers, and that it exceeded the statute of limitations when it amended the complaint to name them. It is possible that the amended complaint was timely filed.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 23cv167, NOS: Personal Injury - Health Care/Pharmaceutical Personal Injury/Product Liability - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Health Care, Tort, Negligence
J. Stadtmueller rules in part for the estate in wrongful death and negligence claims. The mother may only proceed without legal representation if she is the sole beneficiary of the decedent's estate, and she must file proof with the court to demonstrate such. Meanwhile, negligent medical care claims must be dismissed since they were not timely filed.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Stadmueller, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 2:24cv348, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence, Wrongful Death
J. Peterson denies a business owner’s motion for preliminary injunction. Two lawsuits are in play over the use of a particular piece of city-owned land: one is pending and there is the instant matter. The instant court finds there is significant overlap in the two cases and the instant matter should be combined with the first lawsuit. The instant court issues an order to consolidate and denies the business owner’s motion for preliminary injunction.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 24cv135, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Real Estate, Zoning
J. Peterson partially grants the motion for summary judgment from the city, city officials and fire and police commission in a lawsuit from a firefighter claiming his First and 14th Amendment rights were violated when, among other things, he was demoted from his position as assistant fire chief and had a restraining order entered against him when he began arriving at fire scenes while he was on leave. The firefighter's due process claim against the city and the commission will proceed to trial, as there is a dispute regarding whether he was deprived of his property interest in his position through his demotion after a change in the law governing how such employment decisions are made. Summary judgment is granted to the city, officials and commission on all of the firefighter's remaining claims, and the individual officials are dismissed as parties.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv640, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Due Process
J. Conley partially grants motions in limine from the police officer and the citizen in the latter's lawsuit claiming he was stopped and had his car searched without reasonable suspicion, was subjected to excessive force during his arrest and that false pretexts were used to secure a warrant to search his hotel room. The citizen's motion to bar the officer from introducing evidence of his five previous felony and misdemeanor convictions is partially granted, and the officer's lawyer is only allowed to ask him if he has been "convicted of five crimes punishable by imprisonment for more than one year," unless the citizen's answer opens the door to further inquiry. In part, the officer's motions are partially granted in that he can only inquire about the citizen's brother's past convictions in a similar way and the citizen is barred from making a "golden rule" argument asking the jurors to put themselves in his shoes.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv65, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Police Misconduct
J. Peterson partially grants motions to exclude expert testimony from the Wisconsin-based corn products exporter and the Switzerland-based agrichemical company in the exporter's lawsuit claiming the company negligently approved the sale of a genetically modified corn seed in the United States before China began rejecting products containing a trait in the seed, causing the exporter to sustain $18 million in damages. In part, the exporter's motion is granted such that one of the company's experts is barred from testifying about the economic benefits of the seed or other genetically modified corn and another is barred from testifying about whether China is a key market for corn products. Similarly, the company's motion is partially granted such that the exporter's expert can testify about whether the company's conduct caused the exporter's damages and a ruling is reserved as to whether another can testify about whether the exporter's mitigation steps were "speculative or unreasonable."
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv321, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Trademark, Negligence, Experts
J. Peterson grants the transportation broker and solar panel supplier's motion to dismiss or transfer the shipping company's lawsuit over issues with two shipments of solar panels, one of which was the result of fraud by an impostor who hacked the company's electronic credentials. In part because the record does not show that the Arizona-based supplier has sufficient business contacts with Wisconsin such that jurisdiction has been established, the case is transferred to the proper venue at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv356, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Jurisdiction, Venue, Contract
J. Conley grants the union's motion to affirm an arbitration award in its favor in a dispute with the paper mill owner over the union's demand for vacation pay during the indefinite idling of the mill, which lasted from August 2020 until the mill permanently closed in October of that year. There is no serious error, breach of authority or other cause to overturn the arbitrator's decision, so the decision is affirmed, judgment is entered in the union's favor and the clerk is directed to close the case.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv194, NOS: Labor/Management Relations - Labor, Categories: Arbitration, Labor / Unions
J. Peterson partially grants the U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard officials' motion to dismiss a pro se lawsuit from a former member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary claiming he was removed from his position after refusing orders to remove posts he made on social media. The former Auxiliary member can proceed with his claim against the Coast Guard under the Administrative Procedures Act, but all his other claims, including those stating violations of due process and the First Amendment, are dismissed.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv170, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Government
J. Peterson grants the U.S. Secretary of the Army's motion for summary judgment in the citizen's pro se lawsuit claiming he was unlawfully denied jobs he applied for with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The citizen has not provided sufficient evidence to show he was denied employment as retaliation for testifying as a witness at his father's EEO hearing in 2002, so his motion for summary judgment is denied, the Army secretary's motion is granted, and the clerk is ordered to close the case.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv351, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Employment Retaliation
J. Conley denies motions for summary judgment from the employee and the paper manufacturer in the employee's lawsuit claiming he was unlawfully disciplined and fired because he needed accommodations at work limiting his physical movement because of chronic ankle pain and medical leave to have two surgeries on the ankle. Factual disputes over the manufacturer's alleged retaliation against the employee and its reasonable steps to accommodate him require the employee's claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to proceed to trial.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv686, NOS: Family and Medical Leave Act - Labor, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, Employment Discrimination
J. Peterson denies the widower's motion for sanctions against the prison healthcare company in his lawsuit alleging violations of his late wife's 14th Amendment rights that allegedly led to a fatal heart attack while she was incarcerated. While the widower's motion for sanctions is denied, he has successfully argued that the company misrepresented the availability of key information during discovery about deaths in facilities the company services such that the widower could not access this information until December 2023, so the case's schedule is struck and the parties will conduct a new pretrial conference to reset the schedule and set a new discovery plan. A motion to intervene from the estate of a man who also died while in custody at a facility the company services is denied, as its goal to obtain documents obtained through discovery in this case can be obtained through its own discovery procedures, but the motion is denied without prejudice so it can be brought back later if need be.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv1123, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, Sanctions, Wrongful Death
J. Peterson grants the rubber flooring manufacturer's motion for attorney fees and costs in a breach of contract suit it faced from the flooring retailer. In part because the billing records the manufacturer submitted for its national counsel contain redactions that do not jibe with federal court requirements and do not make it possible to determine whether the fees requested are reasonable, the manufacturer's request for attorney fees is reduced by $20,089. In total, the manufacturer is awarded $60,701 in attorney fees plus $4,619 in expenses and costs.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv244, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Conley partially grants motions for summary judgment in the citizen's lawsuit against the police officers claiming unlawful search and seizure, illegal use of force, racial discrimination and other charges in connection with a traffic stop in which the citizen, who is Black and was on probation at the time, was pulled over after leaving a hotel known for illegal drug activity and had his car and hotel room searched, leading to drug and weapon possession charges against him. In part because genuine disputes of fact exist regarding whether the officer who originally pulled the citizen over had reasonable suspicion he had done anything illegal, that officer's motion for summary judgment is denied. Three other officers are granted summary judgment because they are entitled to qualified immunity, and two more officers are also awarded summary judgment because they were not involved enough in the citizen's claims.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: March 15, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv65, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Constitution, Police Misconduct
J. Peterson grants the police officers and dispatchers' motion for summary judgment in the citizen's pro se lawsuit claiming he was blocked from filing a complaint against one of the officers, who the citizen also claims insulted him and called him racial slurs along with another officer when they were sent out to field his complaint. Because the weight of the audio and video evidence contradict the citizen's suggestion that he was unlawfully blocked from filing his complaint through the normal process, or that any of his constitutional rights were violated at any point, his First Amendment, Fourth Amendment and 14th Amendment claims all fail and his motion for summary judgment is denied. The citizen's case is dismissed on the merits, and because he repeatedly engaged in misconduct such as clearly fabricating allegations of race-based discrimination, the citizen is sanctioned, in part, by being blocked for two years from filing any civil lawsuit except habeas corpus petitions without prepaying the filing fee.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: February 29, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv555, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Police Misconduct
J. Conley grants the patient's motion to remand back to the circuit court a class action claiming the health system, without consent, used tracking technology on its website to share patients' personally identifiable information and private health care information with third parties. The fact that the health system operates an online patient portal to access health care records does not mean it is acting under a federal officer or agency's authority and does not support removal of this lawsuit to federal court, even if the system did participate in the federal government's voluntary "meaningful use program" incentivizing giving patients online access to health care records. The case is remanded back to La Crosse County Circuit Court.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv694, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Health Care, Class Action
J. Conley partially grants the insurance company's motion for a declaratory judgment saying it is not obligated to indemnify or defend the metals manufacturer in an arbitration proceeding with a customer claiming the manufacturer provided defective dredge tanks. Although three categories of the customer's claims are not covered by a provision in the manufacturer's policy related to "manufacturer's errors or omissions," there may potentially be coverage for the customer's claims of breach of contract, negligence and negligent misrepresentation if arbitration breaks in its favor.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv443, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Arbitration, Insurance, Contract
J. Conley grants summary judgment to Target in a lawsuit from an intellectual property transfer company claiming Target violated six of its patents for technology to help customers locate products in a store using computerized systems. Because all of the patents in question are directed to the same abstract idea of "collecting, analyzing, retrieving and displaying information," and nothing else about the patent claims make them into something more than abstract ideas, the company's arguments fail. The company's motion for partial summary judgment is denied, and its other motions to strike, for claims construction and for a claims construction hearing are denied as moot.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv425, NOS: Patent - Property Rights, Categories: Patent
J. Peterson grants a motion in limine from the school district, the former teacher and other district employees seeking to define "garden variety emotional distress" as pertains to the scope of discovery and evidence in a lawsuit from former high school students claiming the former teacher secretly made video recordings of them in hotel rooms during field trips, occasionally while they were naked. The parties will proceed with a definition of garden variety emotional distress that includes, in part, that it is "emotional distress within the range of what a healthy, well-adjusted person would feel as a result of defendant's conduct." The students may claim they have suffered this kind of harm without waiving their right to keep their mental health records private, yet they also must give up any claims to more severe forms of emotional distress.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Peterson, Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv683, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Emotional Distress, Discovery
J. Conley grants the retirement plan administrators' motion to dismiss the beneficiaries' class action claiming the administrators breached their fiduciary duties by selecting and retaining investments in index funds that perform poorly compared to other available funds. In part because the beneficiaries have failed to prove the disputed investments were made outside the administrators' "reasonable judgment," and because the investments did not always perform poorly during the class period, the beneficiaries have failed to a state a viable claim for breach of fiduciary duty. The beneficiaries' complaint is dismissed without prejudice, and they are given until February 26, 2024, to file an amended complaint, should there be a good-faith reason for it.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: January 26, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv449, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Fiduciary Duty, Class Action
J. Conley grants summary judgment to the insurance company in the beneficiary's lawsuit claiming it wrongfully denied her claim for long-term disability benefits after she stopped working in June 2022 due to cognitive issues, eye problems, hand numbness, shoulder pain, chronic kidney disease and other complications from diabetes. Through the denial of her initial claim and two subsequent appeals, the insurance company was not arbitrary and capricious in making its decisions based on the beneficiary's medical records and ability to perform her job in light of the combined effect of all her ailments, many of which the evidence shows were stable or improving.
Court: USDC Western District of Wisconsin, Judge: Conley, Filed On: January 24, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv494, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Erisa, Insurance