Wisconsin recently enacted Act 376 modifying certain aspects of mortgage foreclosure proceedings, most notably a reduction to the period of time that owner-occupied, non-commercial property may be redeemed and the process of declaring a property abandoned. Under current law, a judgment of foreclosure must specify a length of time, called a redemption period, during which […]
Articles
With a one sentence opinion, the United States Supreme Court issued its first deadlocked ruling following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. The ruling came in a creditors’ rights case that languished before the Court for some time, hinting of a divided Court on the issue prior to Scalia’s death. In Hawkins v. Community Bank […]
This is the third and final article in a series on undue influence in Wisconsin. The second method of challenging a will or gift made during a lifetime on grounds of undue influence, a so-called inter vivos conveyance requires that the party establish only two elements. Doing so raises a rebuttable presumption of undue influence. […]
This is the second in a series of three articles on undue influence in Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, the four elements of classic undue influence cases are susceptibility, opportunity, disposition and a coveted result. In addition to classic undue influence in Wisconsin, there is a second method of challenging a will or gift made during lifetime, […]
This is the first of a series of three articles on undue influence in Wisconsin. Unscrupulous people sometimes use undue influence to change wills and obtain gifts from the elderly, sick, or weak. Increasingly, the public has come to realize this is a form of elder abuse. Undue influence cases involve predominantly factual determinations and […]
Most people would probably assume that simply maintaining a website would not expose the creator to being sued wherever the website can be viewed. Courts in this country have generally agreed, and have ruled that the mere act of operating a website that can be read within a certain state does not, by itself, give […]
On January 20, a Wisconsin federal judge ruled in favor of a private telecommunications auditor, Todd Heath, who filed a lawsuit claiming that Wisconsin Bell defrauded the federal E-Rate program by overcharging schools and libraries. The lawsuit was brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), a federal law encouraging whistleblowers to come forward when they […]
As we discussed in a recent article, class action lawyers have been sending demand letters and filing lawsuits claiming that websites belonging to businesses and organizations are “places of public accommodation” and are in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because they are not accessible to people with visual and hearing impairments. On […]
A new Wisconsin law allows contractors to purchase materials tax-free for construction projects undertaken by certain tax-exempt government and non-profit entities. Under former law, such entities generally had to purchase the construction materials directly themselves in order to receive the Wisconsin sales and use tax exemption. Now, construction contractors may make tax-exempt purchases of construction […]
Recently, class action lawyers around the country have filed lawsuits against businesses and organizations (even the National Basketball Association) alleging that their websites are not compliant with the ADA. Attorneys on behalf of vision or hearing impaired individuals are alleging that websites available for use by the public must conform to certain standards of accessibility. […]
