Blog

LACROIX V. KENOSHA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Kenosha was one of a few school districts to negotiate with its employee unions in violation of Act 10. On behalf of a teacher and Kenosha taxpayer, we sued and were successful in having the collective bargaining agreement voided.

KEA V. WERC

After one judge ruled that the Kenosha Education Association was still subject to Act 10, KEA sought a ruling from another judge that it was not subject to Act 10. We informed that new judge of the ongoing case and binding ruling, criticizing KEA for its blatant forum shopping. That judge stayed the new case, eventually dismissing it.

BLASKA V. MMSD / SANNES V. MMSD

The Madison Metropolitan School District negotiated with its teachers unions in violation of Act 10. We sued to stop them, but the Dane County Circuit Court concluded that because one of the unions had won a temporary victory (which the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled, declaring Act 10 constitutional), the collective bargaining agreement was lawful.

HIGHLAND MEMORIAL V. WISCONSIN

Wisconsin prohibits cemetery owners from owning or operating a funeral home and vice versa. They can’t even have a funeral home operated by somebody else on their cemetery grounds! We think the government has no legitimate interest in limiting people’s choices this way, and we filed a lawsuit challenging the law, but the Wisconsin Supreme Court disagreed.

HOEKSTRA V. CITY OF BAYFIELD

Seeking to protect the local bed & breakfast owners, Bayfield passed an ordinance requiring anybody who wanted to run a B&B during the summer months to live in the city at least six months each year. We filed a federal lawsuit because this discriminated against owners who lived (most of the time) in other states. To settle the lawsuit, Bayfield amended its ordinance.

VOTERS WITH FACTS V. CITY OF EAU CLAIRE (TID 8 & 10)

Cities around the state use TIF districts as a way to give taxpayer funds to developers while claiming that the money is “free”. State law requires cities to follow very strict procedures in order to create TIF districts. When Eau Claire failed to follow those procedures, we sued to hold them accountable.

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS V. ALLEN

Wisconsin’s Right to Work law allowed employees to opt out of paying union dues on 30-days’ notice. Unions sued, arguing that violated a federal law saying that union dues can be locked in “up to one year”. We filed amicus briefs supporting the law.

KRIST OIL V. WISCONSIN

The State of Wisconsin thinks consumers need to be protected from low prices, and has passed a law prohibiting retailers from setting prices too low. It also requires some products to be sold at a substantial markup – a hidden tax on consumers that goes straight into the pockets of business owners. We sued to get rid of that law.