News

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to accept three new cases, and the Court acted to deny review in a number of other cases. The case numbers, counties of origin and the issues presented in granted cases are listed below. More detailed synopses will be released at a later date. More information about pending appellate cases can be found on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Access website. Published Court of Appeals opinions can be found here, and the status of pending Supreme Court cases can be found here.

2018AP1880 & 2018AP2371 Stroede v. Society Ins.
Supreme Court case type: Petition for Review
Court of Appeals: District I
Circuit Court: Milwaukee County, Judge Ellen R. Brostrom, affirmed in part, reversed in part
Long caption: David Stroede, Plaintiff-Appellant-Petitioner v. Society Insurance, A Mutual Company and Railroad Station, LLC, Defendants-Respondents, Jacob D. Tetting, ABC Insurance Company and West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, Defendants

Issue presented:
[W]hether defendant Jacob Tetting qualifies as a"Possessor of Real Property" as that term is defined and used in Wis. Stat. § 895.529, Civil liability limitation; duty of care owed to trespassers.

Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack and Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

2018AP1887 Waupaca v. K.E.K.
Supreme Court case type: Petition for Review
Court of Appeals: District IV
Circuit Court: Waupaca County, Judge Vicki L. Clussman, affirmed
Long caption: In the matter of the mental commitment of K. E. K.: Waupaca County, Petitioner-Respondent, v. K. E. K., Respondent-Appellant

Issues presented:

1. Whether the circuit court lacked competency to exercise subject matter jurisdiction over [K.E.K.'s] recommitment proceeding due to Waupaca County's conceded violation of § 51.20(13)(g)2r?
2. Whether § 51.20(1)(am) violates substantive due process and equal protection of the law on its face (and as applied)?

Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

2017AP2244 Village of Slinger v. Polk Props., LLC
Supreme Court case type: Petition for Review
Court of Appeals: District II
Circuit Court: Washington County, Judge Sandy A. Williams, affirmed
Long caption: Village of Slinger, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Polk Properties, LLC and Donald J. Thoma, Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiffs-Appellants-Petitioners v. Russell Brandt, Rick Gundrum, Jeff Behrend, Lee Fredericks, John Dukelow, Richard Kohl, Dean Otte, Jessi Balcom and ABC Insurance Company, Third-Party Defendants

Issues presented:

1. Abandonment of the right to a non-conforming land use requires (1) cessation of the non-conforming use and (2) an intent to abandon the non-conforming use.¹ State ex rel. Schaetz v. Manders, 206 Wis. 121, 238 N.W. 835, 837 (1931). In that context, can the property owner's application for a zoning change, the owner's entry into a development agreement, or the owner's entry into restrictive covenants alone, constitute an abandonment?
2. Assessment and imposition of property taxes is controlled by a comprehensive administrative process, which is a prerequisite to the pursuit of judicial remedies. Hermann v. Town of Delavan, 215 Wis. 2d 370, ¶10, 24, 572 N.W.2d 855 (1998). In that context, did the trial court lack competence to retroactively reassess the subject property without prior involvement of the specified administrative process?
3. Thoma timely paid the property taxes assessed by the Village of Slinger for the years 2009-2013. Wisconsin does not allow retroactive reassessments of property taxes unless expressly authorized by the legislature. Wisconsin Central Ltd. v. Wisconsin Department of Revenue, 2000 WI App 14, 232 Wis. 2d 323, 606 N.W.2d 226. In that context, was the trial court's assessment against Thoma of the difference between the amount of property taxes paid by Thoma and the amount the court believed Thoma should have paid in 2009-2013, an unlawful retroactive reassessment of taxes?
4. Do multiple additional errors require the reversal of the circuit and Court of Appeals' decisions; specifically:
   1. Is restrictive covenant 10.1, which expressly entitled Thoma to use unsold lots for non-residential purposes, an exception to restrictive covenant 5.1?
   2. Having issued a scheduling order that did not include a contempt hearing as a remaining proceeding in the case, and without any prior notice from the court of such a hearing, did the court conduct a contempt hearing without the required notice?
   3. Having supported the position in Thoma v. Village of Slinger, 2018 WI 45, 381 Wis. 2d 311, 912 N.W.2d 56, that the subject property was not being used for agriculture in 2014, did the doctrine of judicial estoppel preclude Slinger from seeking and obtaining penalties and contempt sanctions from Thoma for agricultural use in 2014-2017?
   4. Did slinger fail to identify a zoning ordinance that had been violated and did Slinger fail to present evidence of a zoning code violation?
   5. One of the factors in imposing forfeitures is evidence of the forfeitures imposed on similarly situated offenders. State v. Boyd, 2000 WI App 208, ¶14, 238 Wis. 2d 693, 618 N.W.2d 251. Was it prejudicial error for the trial court to have precluded offered evidence of the lack of fines imposed on similarly situated offenders?

Justice Daniel Kelly and Justice Brian K. Hagedorn did not participate.

Review denied: The Supreme Court denied review in the following cases. As the state's law-developing court, the Supreme Court exercises its discretion to select for review only those cases that fit certain statutory criteria (see Wis. Stat. § 809.62). Except where indicated, these cases came to the Court via petition for review by the party who lost in the lower court:

Brown
18AP509-CRNM State v. Tisher–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Calumet
18AP2074-CR State v. Jackson–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
17AP2182 State v. Garcia–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Dane
18AP1881-1883-CR State v. Reveles–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP1943-CR State v. Johnson–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP2233-CR State v. Anderson–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Dodge
18AP2254-CR State v. Madison
19AP308-CR State v. Spencer

Fond du Lac
18AP1560-CR State v. Kind

Green Lake
19AP7 Anderson-Kemnitz v. Anderson-Kemnitz–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Iron
19AP1520 Iron County DHS v. N.H.-D. –Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Jefferson
18AP848-CR State v. Jazdzewski–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Kenosha
18AP2270-CR State v. Langston–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Milwaukee
16AP1798-CRNM State v. Johnson–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
17AP1724-CR State v. Triplett–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP611-CRNM State v. Solis–Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack and Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP64 State v. Rogers–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP202 Gomez v. Board of Fire and Police Commissioners of Milwaukee–Justice Daniel Kelly and Justice Brian Hagedorn did not participate.
19AP331 State v. Moss–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP365-CR State v. Burns–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP592-CR State v. Black–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP633 Vistelar, LLC v. Cincinnati Specialty Underwriters Insurance Co. –Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP713 State v. Steel–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
19AP749-751-CR State v. McNeal–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
20AP220-W Brown v. Boughton–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Monroe
19AP714-CR State v. Kingsley–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Outagamie
18AP1235 State v. Pocan–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP1741-CR State v. Lee–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Portage
19AP1841-FT Portage County v. L.E. –Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Shawano
19AP1985-CR State v. Sanders–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Sheboygan
19AP1303-CRNM State v. Chavez–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Vernon
19AP422-CR State v. Molner–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Walworth
20AP228-W Noback v. Court of Appeals–Justice Daniel Kelly and Justice Brian Hagedorn did not participate.

Washington
19AP867 State v. Taylor–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP2184-2185-CR State v. Ball–Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler and Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Waukesha
19AP122 Severstal Columbia Holdings, LLC v. Willis of Wisconsin, Inc. –Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

Winnebago
18AP2105 State v. Blank–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.
18AP2467-CR State v. Taliaferro–Justice Daniel Kelly did not participate.

¹ The cessation of the use for a period of time specified by code or ordinance can, alone, result in abandonment. That circumstance has not been shown to exist in this case.

Contact:
Tom Sheehan
Court Information Officer
(608) 261-6640