Category: Politics

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.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Accepts Redistricting Case; Protasiewicz Will Not Recuse

Posted on by Hamilton

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted a lawsuit challenging the legality of Wisconsin’s state legislative maps. Two petitions for original action were filed in August, each asking the supreme court to bypass the typical trial and appellate court process and rule that Wisconsin’s current state legislative maps are unconstitutional.

2023 Wisconsin Spring Election Results: Protasiewicz Defeats Kelly in Supreme Court Race

Posted on by Hamilton

Wisconsin held its 2023 spring general election on April 4. Spring elections in Wisconsin are officially nonpartisan and include offices such as judges, mayors, local legislative bodies, and school boards. Several notable races and referenda were on the ballot this year, including an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Gov. Evers Delivers 2023-25 Budget Address, Including Problematic New Ways to Sue Businesses

Posted on by Hamilton

Gov. Evers (D) gave his third biennial budget address on February 15, unveiling his 2023-25 executive budget recommendations. He proposes an operating budget of $103.8 billion over the next two fiscal years, adding a net 816.55 full-time equivalent positions. For comparison, the 2021-23 state budget spent $87.5 billion with a net reduction of 174.19 FTE positions.

Supreme Court Candidates Discuss Philosophy and Key Cases at WisPolitics Forum

Posted on by Hamilton

Currently, judicial conservatives enjoy a 4-3 majority on Wisconsin’s elected supreme court. Justice Patience Roggensack, a judicial conservative, is not seeking reelection, creating a vacancy which will decide control of the court. The race will be hotly contested, attracting a significant amount of attention. The top two vote-getters in the February 21 primary will square off in the general election on April 4. The four candidates for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court met for a candidate forum on January 9.

Gov. Evers Begins Second Term as GOP Legislature Considers Broad Tax Reform

Posted on by Hamilton

Inauguration Day in Wisconsin took place on January 3. Democratic incumbents Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul began their second terms in office, while Sara Rodriguez was sworn in as the state’s new lieutenant governor. Inauguration Day also marked the beginning of the 2023-24 Session of the Wisconsin Legislature, and 31 new members were sworn in, nearly 25 percent of the Legislature’s total membership.

State Legislative Elections Update: Assembly Judiciary Chairperson Jim Ott Loses Re-Election Bid

Posted on by Hamilton

State Senate Republicans have expanded their margin to 21-12 by picking up two Democrat seats (and assuming Republicans will successfully defend Senator Fitzgerald’s seat after he vacates it). Republican incumbents Sen. Pat Testin (R – Stevens Point) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R – River Hills) both won re-election and the parties split open seats with Republican Eric Wimberger beating Jonathon Hansen in a Green Bay area seat and Democrat Brad Pfaff defeating Dan Kapanke in a LaCrosse area seat.  As expected, Republican Rob Stafsholt beat Democrat Patty Schachtner in her northwest Wisconsin district.

Karofsky Wins State Supreme Court Election

Posted on by Hamilton

April 7 Election Results

 One week after election day, Wisconsin spring election results were finally released on April 13. On the ballot on April 7 was the Democratic primary for president, a state Supreme Court seat, and many local races. Turnout was the highest for a spring election since 2016, when there were primaries for both Democrat and Republican presidential nominees.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Liberal Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jill Karofsky beat incumbent conservative Justice Daniel Kelly in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court with about 55 percent of the vote. When she is inaugurated to the bench in August, Karofsky’s addition will move the court from a 5-2 to a 4-3 conservative majority. The next Supreme Court election will not be until Chief Justice Roggensack is up for reelection in 2023.

Democratic primary: Vice President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary for president in Wisconsin. His opponent Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out on April 8, the day after the Wisconsin election, making Wisconsin the last contested primary of the 2020 primary race. Biden had around 63 percent of the Wisconsin vote, and Sanders had about 32 percent. Biden gained the endorsement of both Sanders and President Barack Obama following his win in Wisconsin.

Constitutional amendment: Voters approved a constitutional amendment on victims’ rights. Known as Marsy’s Law, the constitutional amendment passed the Legislature for the second time in 2019 and now, with voter approval, becomes law. About 75 percent of voters voted in favor of the constitutional amendment.

 

Election Litigation

Wisconsin’s spring election on April 7 gained national attention as several lawsuits sought to make changes to in person and absentee voting in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the lawsuits were resolved the day before the election, it is expected that there will be more post-election litigation. Already, before election results were released, on April 13 a group of Milwaukee-area residents filed a class action lawsuit against the Legislature and the Wisconsin Elections Commission seeking a partial revote for the April 7 election and election changes for Wisconsin’s remaining elections in 2020. (Plaintiffs’ press release)