For Immediate Release
	CONTACT: Amanda K. Todd Court Information Officer (608) 264-6256

Supreme Court Accepts Eight New Cases

Jan. 21, 2000 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has voted to grant review in eight new cases. The case numbers, issue, and county of origin are listed below. Please note that the statement of the issue is cursory. To read the full record, go to the Supreme Court Clerk's office, Ste. 215, Tenney Building, 110 E. Main St., Madison. Court of Appeals opinions in these cases, if they exist, may be found on the court system's Web site, www.courts.state.wi.us.

98-1126 Milwaukee Dist. Council 48, et al v. Milwaukee County, et al

Issues:A Milwaukee County employee was discharged for cause, received a due process hearing regarding the discharge, and as a result of the discharge lost all pension benefits. Is this person entitled to a second due process hearing on the actual pension loss? Does the pension board automatically, and without a second due process hearing, deny pension benefits to all employees terminated for fault or delinquency? If not, what are the circumstances under which a second due process hearing may be afforded and/or pension benefits granted? Does the pension ordinance violate any constitutional provisions and/or common law principles insofar as it apparently provides for loss of all pension benefits where there is a termination for fault or delinquency, without consideration of the other circumstances of the termination? From Milwaukee County.

98-1546Aurora Medical Group v. Dept. of Workforce Dev., et al

Issues:Does § 514(a), 29 U.S.C. § 1144, of the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempt a state law claim to substitute paid sick leave for unpaid leave, for an ERISA covered employee, as provided for under the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Wis. Stats. § 103.10? From Milwaukee County.

98-2212 T. Brauneis, et al v. LIRC, et al

Issues:Does a defensive lockout by an employer who is a member of an association of employers, in response to a different employer member of the association being struck, constitute a statutory lockout under Wis. Stats. § 108.04(10)(d)? Certified by the Court of Appeals. From Milwaukee County.

98-2710 A. Guzman, et al v. St. Francis Hospital, et al

Issues:Is the $350,000 non-economic damages limit imposed in medical malpractice cases by Wis. Stats. § 655.017 and § 893.55(4), unconstitutional? Bypassed Court of Appeals. From Milwaukee County.

98-3485-CRState v. C. Hajicek

Issues:Was the police search conducted in this case in violation of the Fourth Amendment, or was it a lawful probation search? From La Crosse County.

99-0056C. Yahnke, et al v. L. Carson, M.D., et al

Issues:Can a party create a genuine issue of material fact sufficient to defeat summary judgment with affidavits that contradict, in material respects, the deposition testimony of those same affiants? From Rock County.

99-0554-CRState v. D. Hahn

Issues:Does a defendant have a constitutional right to collaterally challenge a guilty plea entered in a prior case on the grounds that the defendant did not realize that the guilty plea entered in the prior case could be used to enhance the sentence imposed in a later case? From Winnebago County.

99-0869 T. Pinter v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co., et al

Issues:Does the firefighters rule, as adopted in Hass v. Chicago & North Western Railroad, 48 Wis. 2d, 179 N.W.2d 885 (1970), bar an emergency medical technician from pursuing a cause of action against a negligent driver for injuries sustained while rendering aid to the victim of an automobile accident? Certified by the Court of Appeals. From Waukesha County.

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