Category: Legislation

Legislation to Curb Forum Shopping Receives Public Hearing

Posted on by Hamilton

May 8, 2025, the Assembly Committee on Insurance held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 225, legislation authored by Rep. Cindi Duchow (R-Town of Delafield) and Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) to reform how the proper venue for a civil case is determined in Wisconsin. Under current Wisconsin law, with certain exceptions, the proper venue for a civil action must be in:

 

  • the county where the claim arose,
  • the county where any property subject to the claim is situated,
  • the county where a defendant resides or does substantial business, or,
  • if none of the above apply, in any county designated by the plaintiff.

 

Unfortunately, members of the plaintiff’s bar have been exploiting the provision relating to where a defendant in an action does substantial business to move cases to a county where an insurer in the case does business, making the litigation less convenient for other defendants and too often to a “friendly” venue from the plaintiff’s attorney’s perspective, such as Dane or Milwaukee County. For example, defense counsel anecdotally have reported they have seen a rise in cases being filed in Dane County, with no other contact to the case other than the insurer doing business in Dane County.

 

AB 225 provides that when a court determines the proper venue for a proceeding, the court may not consider the participation of an insurance company who is named as a party to the civil action only because either:

  • the insurance company issued a policy to a policyholder against whom a claim is being made or
  • the insurance company, by virtue of a payment made to its policyholder, has a right to be reimbursed out of any proceeds from the action or special proceedings, as provided under current law.

 

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council and its members are supporting AB 225. The key points to this reform are:

 

  • Limiting venue shopping helps ensure that parties cannot choose a specific court more favorable to a party for a case, maintaining procedural fairness and preventing abuse of our court system.

 

  • By limiting venue shopping, cases can often be resolved more quickly and efficiently as they will be heard in the appropriate court, reducing delays and costs associated with unnecessary venue changes.

 

  • Having cases heard in the appropriate venue helps ensure that legal decisions are made in a consistent manner, as the laws and procedures of that jurisdiction are applied, helping to promote predictability and stability in the courts.

 

  • Limiting venue shopping helps ensure that all parties have equal access to a fair and impartial legal process, as cases are heard in a venue that has a direct connection to the litigation because it is the county where the incident arose, the county where the subject property is situated, or the county where the principal defendant(s) reside(s) or has its principal place of business, without preference given to one party over another.

 

The Wisconsin Association for Justice, representing the plaintiff’s bar, are opposed.

 

Republicans Reject Gov. Evers’ Proposals for New Ways to Sue Businesses

Posted on by Hamilton

The Republican-controlled Joint Committee on Finance met on May 8, 2025, to begin to rework Gov. Evers’ (D) proposed budget recommendations. The committee essentially scrapped Gov. Evers’ budget recommendations and is beginning to build a budget off the base year. Stripped on a party-line from the budget and removed from further consideration were Gov. Evers’ proposals for:

 

  • Creation of new employee rights relating to work schedules and, if violated, creation of a new civil cause of action. Compensatory damages, attorney fees, and, in certain circumstances, liquidated damages may be awarded.

 

  • Creation of a new civil cause of action allowing a person to bring an action alleging that an employer has violated employment discrimination, unfair honesty testing, or unfair genetic testing laws (currently, a person may file a complaint with the Department of Workforce Development). Back pay, attorney fees, and compensatory & punitive damages could be awarded.

 

  • Creation of new avenues for civil suits against employers alleging gender identity & expression discrimination.

 

  • Creation of a new civil cause of action allowing any person to bring an action against a broadband service provider alleging the provider has denied access to broadband service to any group of potential residential customers because of the race or income of the residents in the area in which the group resides. Costs and attorney fees could be awarded. The Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection could also enforce this provision.

 

  • Restoration of the ability of private parties to bring a qui tam action against a person for making a false claim with the state, such as Medicaid. The private party bringing the claim on behalf of the state could be awarded up to 30 percent of the amount recovered, along with attorney fees. The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council successfully worked in the 2015 legislative session to remove a similar provision under prior law. (Currently, the Department of Justice may bring an action against a person for making a false Medicaid claim.)

 

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council met with key legislators to ensure that these provisions, which would harm Wisconsin’s business community and worsen the state’s civil litigation climate, would be removed from the budget, set aside, and not considered further.

Protecting Motor Carriers, Consumers from Unreasonable Nuclear Verdicts

Posted on by Hamilton

Last session, WCJC successfully advanced through both houses of the legislature SB 613, legislation to create a $1 million per-victim cap on the recovery of noneconomic damages from trucking companies and commercial drivers. Authored by Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee) and Reps. Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger) & John Spiros (R-Marshfield), the aim of the bill was to protect motor carriers from unreasonable “nuclear verdicts” and stabilize insurance costs for the trucking industry. Unfortunately, Gov. Evers (D) vetoed the legislation.

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Wisconsin Civil Justice Council Gives Outstanding Leadership Awards for 2023-24 Legislative Session

Posted on by Hamilton

The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council recently awarded several legislators for their work during the 2023-24 legislative session. WCJC presented Reps. John Spiros and Rick Gundrum and Sen. Cory Tomczyk with the Outstanding Leadership Award for their work on Senate Bill 613, legislation to limit excessive damage awards against trucking companies and commercial drivers.

Legislative Update: 2023-24 Session Concludes With Few Changes to Civil Justice Policy

Posted on by Hamilton

The Wisconsin Legislature stands adjourned and is not expected to reconvene until January 2025. Throughout the 2023-24 session, the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council worked tirelessly to advance civil liability reforms and prevent new civil causes of action from becoming law. This session, legislators introduced many bills proposing to create new private rights of action. WCJC successfully defeated all of them, or else successfully had the legislation amended to remove the new cause of action before passage.

Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Motor Carriers, Consumers from Unreasonable Nuclear Verdicts

Posted on by Hamilton

Legislators in Wisconsin introduced a bill that would cap the recovery of noneconomic damages from trucking companies and commercial drivers. The aim of the bill is to protect employers from unreasonable “nuclear verdicts” and stabilize insurance costs for the trucking industry. The bill cleared both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature on February 20.

Legislature Passes Deicer Registration and Liability Protection Bill

Posted on by Hamilton

Senate Bill 52 creates a voluntary training and registration program for commercial applicators of products for snow and ice removal. The program is intended to encourage applicators to use ice and snow removal procedures that also protect water quality, in part by reducing salt use. The Wisconsin Civil Justice Council worked with legislators and stakeholders to draft strong, sensible liability protection language to incentivize applicators and business owners to take advantage of this program.

Broad Support for Regulating Nonrecourse Litigation Advances Heard by Assembly Consumer Protection Committee

Posted on by Hamilton

On October 11, the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 464, a proposal to regulate nonrecourse civil litigation advance payments in Wisconsin. A coalition of the state’s leading business associations testified and registered in support of the bill at the hearing.