WISCONSIN REFORMS

Appeal Bond Reform: A.B. 548 (2003).  Limits the amount a defendant can be required to pay to secure the right to appeal to $100 million.

Employer Reference Liability Reform: AB 860 (1996).  Limits employer liability for providing employee references by establishing a presumption that the employer acted in good faith unless rebutted by “clear and convincing” evidence that the employer knowingly provided false information, acted maliciously, or violated the fair employment law.

Expert Witness / Expert Evidence Reform: SB 1 (2011).  Adopts the Daubert standards for cases tried in Wisconsin courts.  Limits testimony of experts and evidence to that which is based on sufficient facts or data and is the product of reliable principles and methods.

Joint and Several Liability Reform: SB 11 (1995): Wis. Stat. Ann. § 895.045(1).  Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages from defendants found to be less than 51% at fault.  Provides that a plaintiff’s negligence will be measured separately against each defendant.  The statute retroactively abolishing joint liability for any defendant found to be less than 51% at fault violated the Due Process Clauses of the State and Federal Constitutions.  Matthies v. Positive Manufacturing Co., 2001 WL 737384 (Wis. July 2, 2001).

Medical Liability Reform: Collateral Source Rule Reform: Wisc. Stat. Ann. § 893.55 (7).  Allows for the admissibility of “evidence of any compensation for bodily injury received from sources other than the defendant to compensate the claimant.”

Medical Liability Reform: Contingent Fee Reform: Wisc. Stat. Ann. § 655.013.  Limits contingent fees to 1/3 of the first $1 million recovered, 25% of the first $1 million recovered if liability is stipulated within 180 days of filing of the original complaint and not within 60 days of first day of trial, and 20% for amounts exceeding $1 million recovered.  Allows a judge to exceed these amounts in exceptional circumstances.

Medical Liability Reform: Medical Records: AB 727 (1996).  Overturns the 1990 Court of Appeals decision in Ambrose v. General Cas. Co., which denied access to medical records pre-existing the date of the occurrence at issue in a given lawsuit.  Allows a court order to provide requested information including directly relevant medical records, pre-existing conditions, and treatments.

Medical Liability Reform: Noneconomic Damage Limits: A.B. 1073 (2006).  Limits noneconomic damages in medical liability cases to $750,000.

Medical Liability Reform: Noneconomic Damages Reform: AB 36 (1995): Wisc. Stat. Ann. §§  893.55, 895.04.  Limits the award of noneconomic damages in medical liability cases to $350,000, indexed for inflation. The $350,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice actions violated the equal protection provision of the State Constitution.  Ferdon v. Wisconsin Patients Comp. Fund, 701 N.W.2d 440 (Wis. 2005).

Medical Liability Reform: Periodic Payment of Future Damages: Wisc. Stat. Ann. § 655.015.  Requires future damages in excess of $100,000 to be paid into a fund and then distributed periodically to claimants.

Medical Liability Reform: Wrongful Death Damages Reform: Wisc. Stat. Ann. §§  893.55, 895.04.  Limits damages in wrongful death cases to $500,000 for a minor and $350,000 for an adult.

Obesity Litigation Reform: S.B. 161 (2006).  Exempts from civil liability manufacturers, producers, packers, distributors, carriers, holders, sellers, marketers, and advertisers of food (as defined in 21 U.S.C. 321 (f)) or an association of one or more such entities for claims arising out of weight gain, obesity, a health condition associated with weight gain or obesity, or other generally known conditions allegedly caused or likely to result from the long-term consumption of food.  The liability exemption does not apply if the claim is based on a material violation of a state or federal adulteration or misbranding requirement.  The liability exemption also does not apply for any other material violation of federal or state law applicable to the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, advertising, labeling or sale of food and the violation was committed knowingly and willfully

Products Liability Reform: Risk Contribution: SB 1 (2011).  Overturns the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2005 decision, Thomas v. Mallet, where the court adopted the deeply flawed “risk contribution” theory in cases involving lead-based paint.  Wisconsin was the only state in the country to have adopted this theory. 

Products Liability Reform: SB 1 (2011).  Requires proof of a “reasonable alternative design” in an alleged defective design of a product, moving Wisconsin away from the broad “consumer expectation” test. 

Punitive Damages Reform: SB 1 (2011).  Limits punitive damages to $200,000 or two times compensatory damages, whichever is greater.

Punitive Damages Reform: Clear and Convincing Evidence” Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 294 N.W.2d 437 (Wis. 1980).  Requires a plaintiff to prove punitive damages by “clear and convincing evidence.”

Punitive Damages Reform: Malicious Conduct: SB 11 (1995).  Requires a plaintiff to show that a defendant acted “maliciously or in intentional disregard of the rights of the plaintiff” for the recovery of punitive damages.

Sports Liability Reform: AB 628 (1996).  Limits liability for individuals who participate in contact recreational sports activities by changing the standard of care from ordinary negligence to recklessness in cases involving injury.

Statutes of Limitation and Repose Reform: Accountants: SB 358 (1994).  Establishes a 6-year statute of repose for actions against accountants, with a one-year statute of limitations for causes of action that arise the last year the statute of repose runs. 

Statutes of Limitation and Repose Reform: Real Property: SB 314 (1994).  Establishes a 10-year statute of repose for real property design cases, with a three-year statute of limitations for causes of action that arise between the eighth and tenth years that the statute of repose runs.