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Opinions

Below is a list of opinions specially selected for public release by judges in the district.  For a detailed search, enter the keyword or case number in the search box above.

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18-CV-1240 J3 Engineering Group LLC v. Mack Industries of Kalamazoo LLC et al

Decision

The defendant removed a suit alleging multiple breach of contract claims from state court under diversity jurisdiction. The plaintiff moved for remand based on contractual forum-selection clauses requiring litigation in state court. The defendant moved to transfer based on state law. The court could not determine law governing validity of choice of law and forum selection clauses based on the parties’ briefs and arguments. The court denied both motions.

File:
PDF icon 18-CV-1240 J3 Engineering Group LLC v. Mack Industries of Kalamazoo LLC et al (22).pdf
Judge:
Lynn Adelman
Date:
Monday, July 1, 2019

19-CR-58 US v. Ey Lao and Lola Chang

Decision and Order Denying Motion to Supress

Defendants Ey Lao and Lola Chang filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of law enforcement’s interactions with them after their car slid off the road during a March snowstorm in Brown County, Wisconsin.  Defendants claim that they were “stopped, detained, seized and searched in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” and allege that they were illegally detained when the officer requested their drivers’ license documents and ordered them to remain in the vehicle without reasonable suspicion.  Defendants also contend that, even if the request for identification was justified, that the warrantless search of a locked gun safe found hidden under Lola Chang’s shirt during a pat-down search of her person must be suppressed.  The court held that the officer’s initial request for identification and decision to run defendants’ identities against a law enforcement database were reasonable, and the facts in this case were sufficient to establish the probable cause needed to justify a warrantless search of the gun safe.

File:
PDF icon 19-CR-58 US v. Ey Lao and Lola Chang (35).pdf
Judge:
William C. Griesbach
Date:
Friday, June 21, 2019

15-CV-1157 Davis v. Eckstein et al

Decision and Order

Applying Wisconsin’s choice-of-law rules, the district court concluded that no conflict of law exists when the forum state’s law on a matter is settled and the other state’s law is uncertain. In that circumstance, the court applies forum law.

File:
PDF icon 15-CV-1157 Davis v. Eckstein et al (229).pdf
Judge:
Lynn Adelman
Date:
Monday, June 10, 2019

11-CV-560 US v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Decision and Order

The court struck affirmative defenses that were not pleaded with the level of detail required by Heller Financial, Inc. v. Midwhey Powder Co., Inc., 883 F.2d 1286 (7th Cir. 1989). However, the court gave reasons for applying a relaxed pleading standard to affirmative defenses and concluded that the “plausibility” standard that applies to claims for relief does not apply to affirmative defenses.

File:
PDF icon 11-CV-560 US v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (119).pdf
Judge:
Lynn Adelman
Date:
Tuesday, May 28, 2019

19-CV-25 Smith v. Recordquest, LLC

Order

The court concluded that, under Wisconsin’s health-records statute, release-of-information service providers--which respond to requests for release of patient healthcare information on behalf of healthcare providers (but are not themselves healthcare providers)--are not liable to requestors for charging more than the statutory maximum fee for records. Instead, because service providers act as agents of healthcare providers, a service provider’s charging more than the statutory maximum fee renders the healthcare provider liable to the requestor.

File:
PDF icon 19-CV-25 Smith v. Recordquest, LLC (14).pdf
Judge:
Lynn Adelman
Date:
Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Pages