Wisconsin’s so-called dog bite statute entitled “Owner’s Liability for Damage Caused by Dog” is set forth in Wis. Stat. § 174.02. Section 174.02(1)(a) deals with a “first bite” of a dog while § 174.02(1)(b) deals with a “second bite” of a dog. Effective November 13, 2015, the Wisconsin Legislature maintained the same liability upon a dog owner for a “first bite” but made significant changes to a person’s potential claim for double damages in its modification of § 174.02(1)(b).

In Moya v. Aurora Healthcare, Inc. and HealthPort Technologies, LLC, Appeal No. 2014AP2236, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals decided a case involving the construction and interpretation of Wis. Stats. §§ 146.81-146.83 to determine whether personal injury attorneys are exempt from the $8 certification and $20 retrieval fees under the health records statute § 146.83(3f) when an attorney orders a client’s health care records with the client’s written permission.

Dealing with a situation that is annoying to quite a few businesses, a Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision recently upheld an exclusion within an insurance policy that precluded coverage for allegations that it’s insured violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by continually sending faxes (“blast faxes”) without the permission or consent of the recipient.

In the case of Lyle and Carol Hird v. American Family Mutual Ins. Co., Appeal No. 2014AP2402, a 2015 Wisconsin Court of Appeals dealt with allegations of (1) bad faith; (2) Wis. Stat. § 628.46(1) statutory interest; and (3) Wisconsin’s Offer of Settlement Statute – Wis. Stat. § 807.01. Taking into account the very specific facts of this case, the Court determined that each insurance contract has an implied duty of good faith and fair dealing between the insurer and the insured.

The recent consolidated bellwether trial of the DePuy Pinnacle Hip Implant multi-district litigation concluded on Thursday, March 17, 2016, with a whopping $502 million verdict against defendants DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.