Justia Wisconsin Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming an order of the circuit court that domesticated a Mexican judgment in favor of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and against Daniel and Jane Hennessy, holding that Wells Fargo's judgment against the Hennessys was properly domesticated.On appeal, the Hennessys asserted that the circuit court erred in holding that the foreign judgment was valid and personally enforceable against them under Mexican law and erred in domesticating the Mexican judgment under principles of comity. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Wisconsin principle that a foreign country's law must be proven before a circuit court as a question of fact is hereby affirmed; (2) the circuit court's interpretation of Mexican law was not clearly erroneous; and (3) the circuit court did not abuse its discretion by choosing to recognize the Mexican judgment in Wisconsin. View "Hennessy v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed as modified the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's grant of summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's claims that Defendants violated Wis. Stat. 425.206(2)(b) by entering a parking garage to repossess her car and that Defendants' conduct during and after the repossession was unconscionable in violation of Wis. Stat. 425.107(1), holding that the circuit court erred.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the phrase "dwelling used by the customer as a residence" in section 425.206(2)(b) includes a garage attached to the residential building in which the customer lives; and (2) Plaintiff's claim of unconscionability under section 425.107 was not an "action or other proceeding brought by a creditor to enforce rights arising from consumer credit transactions," and therefore, the unconscionability claim must be dismissed. View "Duncan v. Asset Recovery Specialists, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's order that allowed the City of Waukesha to seek certiorari review of a tax assessment determination of the City of Waukesha Board of Review, holding that Wis. Stat. 70.47 did not allow the City to seek certiorari review of a decision of the Board.At issue on appeal was whether a municipality can seek certiorari review of a determination of the municipality's board of review. The Supreme Court answered the question in the negative, holding that section 70.47 does not allow the City to seek certiorari review of a decision of the Board. View "City of Waukesha v. City of Waukesha Board of Review" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court remedied a malapportionment in existing maps reflecting the legislative districts across the state, while ensuring the maps satisfy all other constitutional and statutory requirements, but held that claims of political unfairness in the maps present political questions, not legal ones.In 2021, the Wisconsin legislature drew maps reflecting the legislative districts across the state, and the governor vetoed them. The parties agreed that the existing maps had become unconstitutional since they were enacted into law in 2011. Petitioners filed a petition for leave to commence an original action in the Supreme Court asking it to declare the existing maps in violation of Wis. Const. art. IV, 3 and requesting a mandatory injunction remedying the unconstitutional plans. The Supreme Court held (1) this Court will remedy the fact that the maps no longer comply with the constitutional requirement of an equal number of citizens in each legislative district, due to shifts in population across the state; but (2) claims of political fairness in the maps present political questions that must be resolved through the political process and not by the judiciary. View "Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals reversing the circuit court's dismissal of Plaintiff's claim against Defendant for unlawfully overcharging her for copies of her medical records, in violation of fee restrictions set forth in Wis. Stat. 146.83(3f), holding that the circuit court erred.On appeal, Defendant argued that the statutory fee restrictions did not apply to it because it was not a healthcare provider, as statutory defined, and because principles of agency law did not impose personal liability on it for the fees at issue. The Supreme Court agreed and reversed, holding (1) Defendant was not a healthcare provider under a plain meaning interpretation of Wis. Stat. 146.81(1) and was therefore not subject to the fee restrictions in section 146.83(3f)(b); and (2) neither common law principles nor Wis. Stat. 990.001(9) set forth that an agent is personally liable for charging more for healthcare records than statutory permitted by its principal. View "Townsend v. ChartSwap, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the order of the circuit court extending Defendant's involuntary commitment, holding that the circuit court incorrectly determined that Defendant's demand for a jury trial was untimely.Defendant did not request a jury trial before the first time set for his final hearing, but the final hearing was adjourned and rescheduled. More than forty-eight hours before the rescheduled date, Defendant demanded a jury trial. At issue was whether the request was timely under Wis. Stat. 51.20(11)(a). The Supreme Court held that Defendant's jury demand was timely because (1) section 51.20(11)(a) does not limit the filing of a jury demand to only the first time that a final hearing is set; and (2) rather, when a final hearing is rescheduled, section 51.20(11)(a) allows a jury demand to be filed up until forty-eight hours prior to the rescheduled final hearing. View "Waukesha County v. E.J.W." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming in part and reversing in part the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's motion for sentence credit against his 1992 and 1999 sentences for time he spent incarcerated in Oklahoma between 2006 and 2017, holding that Appellant was not entitled to sentence credit.In his motion for sentence credit, Appellant argued (1) he was "made available" to Oklahoma and that under Wis. Stat. 973.15(5) he was entitled to credit for time served, and (2) under Wis. Stat. 304.072(5) and 973.155 he must receive credit for time he spent detained in Texas and Wisconsin from 2005 to 2006. The court of appeals concluded that sentence credit was due in the 1992 and 1999 cases for Appellant's time spent incarcerated between 2005 and 2006 and between 2006 and 2017. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) both sections 973.15(5) and 304.072(5) incorporate Wisconsin's foundational sentence-credit statute, Wis. Stat. 973.155; and (2) under section 973.155, Appellant was not entitled to credit. View "State v. Lira" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court concluded that the Honorable Scott C. Woldt, a judge for the Winnebago County circuit court, willfully violated several rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which constituted judicial misconduct under Wis. Stat. 757.81(4)(a), and that Judge Woldt should be suspended without pay for a period of seven days.The Supreme Court concluded that several of Judge Woldt's comments during certain judicial proceedings, combined with the "unnecessary display of his personal handgun" during a sentencing proceeding, constituted a failure to observe the "high standards of conduct" so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary would be preserved. Therefore, the Court ordered that Judge Woldt be suspended from the office of circuit judge without compensation and prohibited from exercising any of the powers or duties of a circuit judge for a period of seven days. View "Wisconsin Judicial Commission v. Honorable Scott C. Woldt" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court deciding that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had the explicit authority to impose and animal unit maximum condition and an off-site groundwater monitoring condition upon a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) it reissued to Kinnard Farms, Inc. for its concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), holding that the circuit court did not err.On review, the circuit court concluded that the DNR had the explicit authority to impose the animal unit maximum and off-site groundwater monitoring conditions on Kinnard's reissued WPDES permit pursuant to Wis. Stat. 283.31(3)-(5) and related regulations. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the DNR had the explicit authority to prescribe the animal unit maximum condition and the off-site groundwater monitoring condition. View "Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources" on Justia Law

In this case concerning eight applications to operate high capacity groundwater wells the Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court with a modification that the circuit court remand all eight well applications to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), holding that the DNR erroneously interpreted the law in concluding that it had no authority to consider the environmental effects of the wells at issue.The eight well applications did not require a formal environmental review, but the DNR had information that the wells would negatively impact the environment. The DNR, however, approved the applications, concluding that it had no authority to consider the proposed wells' environmental effects. The circuit court vacated the DNR's approval of the wells. The Supreme Court affirmed as modified, holding that the DNR erred in interpreting Wis. Stat. 227.10(2m) as a bar to considering a proposed high capacity well's potentially adverse environmental effects for which an environmental review was not otherwise required. The Court modified the circuit court's order with instruction that it remand all eight applications to the DNR. View "Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources" on Justia Law