Recently, the Supreme Court adopted a petition amending the default judgment rule (Wis. Stat. § 806.02) for parties failing to timely file answers to complaints. Under previous law, only plaintiffs could obtain default judgments against defendants who fail to comply with deadlines in Wis. Stat. § 802.06(1). Under the statute as amended by the Supreme Court, default judgment may now be rendered in favor of any party in the case that does not comply with deadlines for answers and replies to complaints, counterclaims or cross claims.

The statutory changes from the petition are effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The Supreme Court accepted seven new cases last week. Cases of note include:

 

John Teske v. Wilson Mutual Insurance Co. (claim preclusion)
The Supreme Court will decide whether previous litigation related to underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage precludes the instant tort claim alleging negligence by the driver insured by Wilson. The appeals court ruled the causes of action of the UIM action and the tort action differed, so claim preclusion should not apply. Wilson appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to dismiss the tort action.

Ann Cattau v. National Insurance Services of Wisconsin (negligence and breach of fiduciary duty)
The plaintiffs, former teachers and school administrators, claim negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and misrepresentation against MidAmerica and NIS, which administered their retirement plans. The plans were noncompliant with federal law, and the plaintiffs ultimately owed several years of tax dollars back to the Internal Revenue Service. The plaintiffs claim they relied on MidAmerica and NIS as experts to administer a qualifying plan, and MidAmerica and NIS misrepresented the plan as federally compliant. The issues before the Supreme Court are whether the plaintiffs stated an adequate claim against defendants MidAmerica and NIS and whether the plaintiffs should be able to amend their complaint for a second time.

L.G. v. Aurora Residential Alternatives, Inc. (compelled arbitration)
The issue presented in this case is whether a circuit court’s order denying a motion to compel arbitration is a “final order” under Wis. Stat. § 808.03(1), allowing the order to be appealed.

 

All Supreme Court pending cases.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has initiated its 2018-19 term with oral arguments beginning last week in several cases.

Of note, the justices heard arguments on Sept. 5 in SECURA Insurance v. Ray Duerr Logging LLC, which will decide whether multiple occurrences may arise from a single cause for insurance coverage purposes. In this case, SECURA argued that a fire spreading across multiple property lines was a single occurrence and thus coverage for Ray Duerr Logging, which started the fire, would be capped at the per-occurrence limit of $500,000. On the other hand, Ray Duerr Logging argued that a separate occurrence began each time the fire crossed into another property. Thus, coverage would be capped at $500,000 per property damaged, up to the policy’s $2 million aggregate limit. The circuit court and appeals court sided with Ray Duerr Logging, and SECURA appealed to the Supreme Court.

The court also heard oral arguments on Sept. 7 in three cases, including Koss Corp. v. Park Bank. That case involves the application of a process to assess “bad faith” in violation of Wisconsin’s Uniform Fiduciaries Act.

The court will continue oral arguments on Sept. 24 and 25. Other notable upcoming cases to be heard in September include:

• Michael Engelhardt v. City of New Berlin – government ministerial duties immunity (Sept. 24)
• Philip Myers v. Department of Natural Resources – amending of previously issued construction permit (Sept. 25)

Full schedule of September oral arguments.

2^nd District Court of Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn announced this week his candidacy for Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Hagedorn is running for the seat that will be vacated by Justice Shirley Abrahamson’s retirement in 2019. Justice Abrahamson announced in May she will not run for re-election after four terms on the bench. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer (also serving in the 2^nd District) announced her candidacy for the seat in July.

Gov. Scott Walker appointed Hagedorn to the Court of Appeals in 2015. Hagedorn previously served as chief legal counsel to Walker, assistant attorney general to J.B. Van Hollen, and clerk for recently retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. Hagedorn was president of the Federalist Society at Northwestern Law School.

In addition to announcing his candidacy, Hagedorn received endorsements from Gableman and current Justices Rebecca Bradley and Daniel Kelly.

 

At the end of July, the Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted 27 new cases. The list includes several insurance-related cases:

• Paula Grigg v. Arrowcast, Inc. – duty to defend, timely notice
• West Bend Mutual Insurance Co. v. Ixthus Medical Supply, Inc. – advertising injury liability coverage, Criminal Acts exclusion, other coverage preclusion considerations
• Steadfast Insurance Co. v. Greenwich Insurance Co. – contemporaneous duty to defend with multiple insurers
• SECURA Insurance v. Ray Duerr Logging LLC – occurrences from a single cause

Other cases of note include:

• Midwest Neurosciences Associates, LLC v. Great Lakes Neurological Associates, LLC – compelled arbitration
• Christopher Kleninger v. Crown Equipment Corp. – compensability of commuting time
• Russell Robertson v. Cleaver-Brooks, Inc. – liability of insulation company
• Michael Engelhardt v. City of New Berlin – government ministerial duties immunity
• Koss Corp. v. Park Bank – bad faith violation of Uniform Fiduciaries Act

Full list of the newly accepted cases.

The next oral arguments are scheduled for Sept. 5. Visit the WCJC website for updates on these and other cases relevant to the Wisconsin business community.