Our Cases

WMC Litigation center

Active Cases & Appeals

The following cases advance our top priority of reining in the ever-expanding administrative state by eliminating agency implicit authorities, ending judicial deference to agency interpretations of law, and invalidating unpromulgated rules masquerading as guidance.

Hawthorne Place v. Village of Dousman

Unlawful Taxation

Active

Brought on behalf of WMC and a group of businesses in the Villages of Dousman and Pewaukee, this lawsuit challenges the imposition of special charges for fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS) in both villages. These charges are imposed village-wide as special charges on all real property—even tax-exempt property—and can cost businesses upwards of […]

Binversie v. Town of Eureka

Free Enterprise, Regulatory Certainty

Active

This lawsuit, filed on behalf of two taxpayers against the Town of Eureka, challenges an onerous permitting scheme imposed by Eureka on livestock farms known as CAFOs. This permitting scheme requires, for example, applicants to pay $1 per animal unit before receiving a permit for a new or expanded livestock facility, even though state law […]

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Inc. v. Village of Pewaukee

Unlawful Taxation

Active

On behalf of WMC, the WMC Litigation Center filed this lawsuit in April 2022 to challenge the Village of Pewaukee’s so-called “transportation utility fee” or TUF, which Pewaukee imposed on all property owners to pay for road repair throughout the village. The Waukesha County Circuit Court upheld the TUF, but the Wisconsin Court of Appeals […]

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Inc. and Leather Rich Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Regulatory Certainty

Active

WMC filed this lawsuit in February 2021 to stop the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) from regulating what it calls “emerging contaminants” as hazardous substances under Wisconsin’s Spills Law without going through the formal rulemaking process. According to the DNR, even common products such as milk, beer, pickle juice and butter can be hazardous […]

LeMieux v. Evers

Separation of Powers

Active

This case—an original action in the Wisconsin Supreme Court on behalf of a retired art professor and a substitute teacher—seeks to invalidate a partial veto that enabled school boards around Wisconsin to raise property taxes without voter approval for 400 years. In the 2023–2025 biennium budget bill, the Wisconsin Legislature approved a two-year increase of […]

Minks v. City of Neenah

Constitutional Rights, Free Enterprise

Closed

The WMC Litigation Center filed this lawsuit in April 2023 on behalf of four City of Neenah residents and taxpayers. This lawsuit challenges Neenah’s highly restrictive and anti-business sign ordinance on First Amendment free speech grounds. This lawsuit challenged seven provisions in the city’s sign ordinance: (1) a ban on “advertising vehicles,” (2) a ban […]

Wisconsin Dairy Alliance Inc. and Venture Dairy Cooperative v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Free Enterprise, Regulatory Certainty

Active

The WMC Litigation Center filed this lawsuit in May 2023 on behalf of two organizations who represent dairy farmers. This lawsuit challenges two administrative rules that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources adopted. One rule requires certain livestock farms to have a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES). This rule creates automatic liability for a […]

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Inc. v. Wisconsin Department of Justice

Government Transparency

Active

The WMC Litigation Center filed this open-records lawsuit in December 2023 on behalf of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce Inc. (WMC). WMC made an open-records request with the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) in April 2022, requesting records of communications between DOJ and a private law firm that the state government had hired to sue businesses […]

Ruffolo v. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Constitutional Rights, Regulatory Certainty

Active

The WMC Litigation Center filed this lawsuit on behalf of two small-business owners, Ralph and Mary Ruffolo, in June 2023. When the Ruffolos did an environmental assessment before trying to sell their bicycle and skateboard shop in Kenosha, they discovered some underground petroleum contamination that had been left behind by a gas station that occupied […]

*Kathleen Papa v. DHS – Act 21 Explicit Authority & Unlawful Guidance

Regulatory Certainty

Closed, Former

On July 9th, 2020, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Medicaid providers, holding DHS’s auditing and claw-back policies fell outside the boundaries of the agency’s explicit authority.On March 9, 2020, GLLF filed an amicus brief on behalf of six Wisconsin business associations before the Wisconsin Supreme Court arguing that Wisconsin Department of Health Services’ (DHS) Medicaid auditing and claw-back policies were invalid and unenforceable because they were not duly promulgated under the Wisconsin Administrative Procedure Act. Oral arguments expected to take place electronically April 22.

*Kinnard Farms, Inc. v. DNR – Act 21 Explicit Authority

Regulatory Certainty

Closed, Former

This case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court tests DNR’s authority to impose permit conditions that require off-site groundwater monitoring and limits on animal units. It is a sister case to Clean Wisconsin Inc. v. DNR in that it also turns on the 2011 Wis. Act 21 requirement for “explicit” legislative delegations of authority to agencies.The GLLF’s amicus curiae brief on behalf of six business associations focused on the Act 21 explicit authority issues relating to the permit conditions. We argue that the term “explicit” authority in Act 21 was purposefully chosen by the legislature to prohibit ad hoc regulatory mandates such as an animal unit limit.

*Clean Wisconsin, Inc. v. DNR – Act 21 Explicit Authority and Public Trust Delegation

Regulatory Certainty

Closed, Former

GLLF represents eight Wisconsin business associations as intervenors in this case currently before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In its decision, the court should establish judicial review standards for assessing the reach of agency authorities. If the court finds that such legislative delegations to agencies must indeed be explicit, then Act 21 may well be the most important constraint ever on the administrative state.The case involves 2011 Wis. Act 21’s requirement that agency mandates be supported by “explicit” statutory authority. Of particular importance in this case, the Supreme Court will determine how Act 21’s Explicit Authority Doctrine affects the sweeping public trust authority previously found by courts in statutory preamble provisions.On June 19, 2019, GLLF filed a brief in support of the Wisconsin Legislature’s petition to intervene. A reply brief was filed on July 9th.