Incorporating resiliency into the built environment is something architects and engineers are increasingly focusing on in the face of the threats posed by climate change. Both the insurance industry and evolving standards of care may also soon require engineers and architects to incorporate resiliency into their designs, even if individual professionals do not feel climate change issues need to be addressed in their building design.
Although incorporating resiliency in the face of climate change is a relatively new concept
Continue Reading Beyond Building Green: Resiliency Resources and Potential Requirements for Addressing Climate and Extreme Weather
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Wisconsin Court of Appeals Rejects Village’s Attempt to Condemn Property for Sidewalk
To exercise the power of eminent domain, Wisconsin municipalities must comply with Chapter 32 of the Wisconsin Statutes. However, the power of eminent domain cannot be used to acquire property to create a “pedestrian way.” In a recently decided case, Sojenhomer LLC v. Village of Egg Harbor (2021AP1589 March 14, 2023) (publication recommended), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that the Village of Egg Harbor violated that law when it attempted to condemn private property to install a sidewalk
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What First Amendment Hurdles Will Former Packer Brett Favre Face in Defamation Cases?
As he so often did during his 15 years as the Green Bay Packers MVP quarterback, Brett Favre has dominated the news cycle during the NFL’s playoff season this year. This time, however, it is for what he is doing in a Mississippi courtroom rather than on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field. After a Mississippi state audit revealed the misuse of money from the state’s welfare program, Favre heaved up three defamation lawsuits against a Mississippi state official
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Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products (Extended Post)
Interpreting for the first time the product liability statute adopted in 2011, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to adopt Restatement (Third) of Torts Section 2(b) and holds that the consumer-contemplation test remains the standard for determining whether a product is “unreasonably dangerous” in a strict liability claim.
Last month, in Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., 2022 WI 109, — N.W.2d —, 2022 WL 17972321 (Dec. 28, 2022), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin interpreted the Wisconsin product liability statute for
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products (Extended Post)
Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products
Interpreting for the first time the product liability statute adopted in 2011, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to adopt Restatement (Third) of Torts Section 2(b) and holds that the consumer-contemplation test remains the standard for determining whether a product is “unreasonably dangerous” in a strict liability claim.
Last month, in Murphy v. Columbus McKinnon Corp., 2022 WI 109, — N.W.2d —, 2022 WL 17972321 (Dec. 28, 2022), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin interpreted the Wisconsin product liability statute for the
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court: Restatement’s Risk-Utility Test Does Not Replace the Consumer-Contemplation Test as the Standard for Determining “Unreasonably Dangerous” Products
Wisconsin Supreme Court Issues Significant Opinion: Insurers Cannot Use Preclusion Principles to Sidestep Duty to Defend
Wisconsin Supreme Court issues significant insurance coverage opinion, finding that insurers cannot use preclusion principles to sidestep duty to defend.
On January 26, 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court weighed in on one potential exception to the “complaint test” as a method of determining whether an insurance company has a duty to defend a lawsuit brought against its insured. Dostal v. Strand, 2023 WI 6, __ N.W.2d __.
Generally, when an insured party is sued, the insurer must compare the
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Issues Significant Opinion: Insurers Cannot Use Preclusion Principles to Sidestep Duty to Defend
What Engineers and Architects Need to Know about Building Codes and Climate Change
Building codes are something most of us don’t hear much about (unless you binge-watch HGTV reno shows like I do). Created to establish minimal life safety requirements for the construction/renovation of buildings, they can vary from state to state and even town to town. Building codes first became part of the American legal landscape in the 1800s, driven in large part by fears of fires spreading through cities.
As federal, state, and local governments deal with the damage done
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A Skeptical View of Daubert Motions in Two Recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals Decisions
Litigants routinely rely upon expert witnesses to provide opinion testimony at trial based on their specialized knowledge, training or experience. Also common, the opponent sees serious methodological flaws and thus reaches for a well-known weapon: a Daubert motion asking the trial court to exclude from evidence the report and any associated testimony. Originating in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993) and since codified at Wis. Stat. § 907.02, such motions invoke the court’s gatekeeper function
Continue Reading A Skeptical View of Daubert Motions in Two Recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals Decisions
The SEC May Require Companies to Disclose Climate-Related Risks and Information
As governments across the globe and at every level—from local to national—work to find productive means of addressing the increasing threats posed by climate change, a new government agency entered the fray last spring: the SEC. In March, the SEC proposed that companies begin providing climate-related information disclosures. The potential implementation of the rule, however, has now been delayed—the SEC had to reopen the comment period due to a technical glitch, and it now has to account for
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Non-Delegation in Wisconsin after Becker v. Dane County: The Dissenters
A prior post discussed how, in Becker, et al. v. Dane County, et al., Nos. 2021AP1343 & 2021AP1382, the Wisconsin Supreme Court recently turned back an effort to revive the non-delegation doctrine, a tool that—at least in its sharper versions—could be used to pare back much of the modern administrative state. This post picks up where that one left off and examines how and why the three dissenting justices would revamp the doctrine.
Justice R.G. Bradley’s stinging dissent, joined
Continue Reading Non-Delegation in Wisconsin after Becker v. Dane County: The Dissenters
Non-Delegation in Wisconsin after Becker v. Dane County
At the end of its 2021-22 term, the Supreme Court released its long-awaited decision in Becker, et al. v. Dane County, et al., Nos. 2021AP1343 & 2021AP1382. The case affirmed the validity of orders issued by the joint public health department of Dane County and the City of Madison to control COVID-19 by, among other things, requiring face coverings and limiting gatherings. Specifically, the Court rejected a challenge by plaintiffs—the affected residents and businesses—to local health officials’ authority to
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Attorney JP Croake Joins Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
We at Stafford Rosenbaum LLP are so excited to announce that a new partner has joined the firm, Attorney JP Croake! JP has an extensive background in business and real estate, and he is a fantastic addition to Stafford Rosenbaum’s business law and real estate law teams.
Prior to joining Stafford Rosenbaum, JP spent his career representing and advising clients ranging from small businesses, entrepreneurs and real estate companies to national corporations, health care providers and franchises on a
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Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part III
Recently, the Wisconsin Legislature adopted several new statutes related to family law. This is the third installment of those legislative changes, and the adoption of the Uniform Deployed Custody and Visitation Act is one of the more substantive additions to this series.
2021 Wisconsin Act 161, or the Uniform Deployed Custody and Visitation Act, is a piece of Uniform Law Commission Legislation (hereafter, “Code”), which is currently enacted in 14 states.[i] Effective March 13, 2022, in Wisconsin, it
Continue Reading Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part III
Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part II
This blog continues to focus on some of the procedural and substantive legal changes that resulted from the 2021-2022 Legislative Session.
2021 Act 204: Codifying Keller and Creating Uniformity in Procedure
In addition to some of the procedural statutory updates in the last blog post, a new procedural format was established for litigants in family court cases. This change, while procedural in nature, does have substantive legal implications for both lawyers and litigants.
This bill amends Wis. Stat. §
Continue Reading Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part II
Wisconsin Joins the Majority: Profit Losses Due to COVID-19 Not Insured
Nationwide, restaurants and bars felt financial strain over the past two years. With measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many food and beverage businesses were subject to restrictions on the use of their in-person dining rooms. In a recent case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court found that COVID-19 related business interruption losses were not recoverable under the insured’s property insurance policies. The Court found that COVID-19 restrictions were not direct physical losses, triggering a claim under a
Continue Reading Wisconsin Joins the Majority: Profit Losses Due to COVID-19 Not Insured
Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part I
Over the last several years, the Wisconsin Legislature, in the wake of the 2018 Joint Legislative Council Study Committee on Child Placement and Support, several new legislative initiatives were introduced. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the passage of many of these bills, but several passed in the 2020-2021 Legislative Session. Many of these statutes are procedures, codifying and streamlining practice for attorneys, litigants and the Courts, but many are also substantive law changes. This is Part I of a three-part
Continue Reading Statutory Updates in Family Law, Part I