By: Ted A. Warpinski As many landowners, developers and builders know, having to obtain a permit to dredge or fill wetlands can cause substantial delays and increased costs. Some relief is now in sight with the recently enacted Wisconsin Act 183, which became fully effective on July 1, 2018. If the exemptions apply, all that is required is a...
By: Elizabeth K. Miles Construction contracts often include a clause that identifies a stipulated or “liquidated” damage amount for unexcused delay. These clauses assess a fixed sum for each day of delay, thereby relieving the owner from proving its actual damages caused by delay. Although generally thought to protect the owner, liquidated...
By: Todd Farris In Krueger v. AllEnergy Hixton, LLC, 2017 AP 1802 (Ct App. August 9, 2018) the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV in a 2-1 decision recognized the claim of anticipatory private nuisance but established a high bar to successfully plead one in court. The case involved a lawsuit filed by a group of Town of Hixton landowners who...
By D|K's School and Higher Education Team As reported by media on January 9, 2018, the Kenosha Unified School District announced that it plans to withdraw its petition for certiorari based on a settlement in the transgender case Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District. As background, on May 30, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals...
By Bruce B. Deadman Under a new IRS program, tax-exempt entities who sponsor 403(b) retirement plans can adopt pre-approved documents that include determination letters that confirm the tax-qualified status of their plans. Plan sponsors need to adopt pre-approved plans before March 31, 2020, in order to qualify for the program. Under a 403(b)...
By Abby S. Busler On June 6, 2017, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released internal guidance on transgender student complaints. The memorandum eliminates OCR reliance on the May 2016 Dear Colleague Letter. OCR will no longer process complaints based solely on the basis of transgender students being denied facility use, such as restrooms or...
By Christopher J. Jaekels On July 7, 2017, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in Milewski v. Town of Dover – 2015AP1523 that the denial of the right to appeal a property tax assessment based on the tax payer’s refusal to grant access to the assessor for inspection, violates the tax payer’s due process rights under the 14th Amendment of the United...
By James M. Kalny On June 29, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion in State of Wisconsin ex rel. John Krueger v. Appleton Area School District Board of Education and Communication Arts 1 Materials Review Committee, No. 2015AP231 regarding what constitutes a governmental body for purposes of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law. The Supreme...
By Christopher J. Jaekels & Michael Van Someren The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires federal, state and local governments to pay “just compensation” any time they “take” private property for public use. On June 23, 2017, in a close 5-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a Wisconsin zoning ordinance that...
By D|K's School and Higher Education Law Team In a much anticipated special education decision, the United States Supreme Court vacated and remanded the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. The Court stated, in the unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that school districts...
