SCREENING ORDER WILLIAM C. GRIESBACH, Chief District Judge. On November 25, 2014, Petitioner Al Holifield filed this petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254, asserting that his state court conviction and sentence were imposed in violation of the Constitution. Petitioner was convicted in Milwaukee County Circuit Court after a jury trial of five felonies and two misdemeanors, all drug-related. Petitioner was sentenced to four consecutive terms of one year of initial confinement and one year of...
ORDER JAMES D. PETERSON, District Judge. NOTICE OF APPEAL TO U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE 7 TH CIRCUIT The Debtor/Appellants, Robert Coleman and Chizuco Coleman and their Attorneys William L. Needler and William L. Needler and Associates, Ltd. (hereinafter "the Appellants") herein Appeal under 28 USC Section 158 (d) (1) from an Order entered in the above U.S District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin which denied the Appellants' Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal of...
DECISION AND ORDER RUDOLPH T. RANDA, District Judge. Lee Yang, convicted in state court of first degree intentional homicide with the use of a deadly weapon, petitions this Court for relief under 28 U.S.C. 2254. The sole claim in Yang's petition is that the trial court erred when it refused to suppress his custodial confession. The following facts, lifted from the court of appeals' decision affirming Yang's conviction, are "presumed to be correct" for purposes of these proceedings. 2254(e)...
DECISION AND ORDER RUDOLPH T. RANDA, District Judge. This matter comes before the Court on the motion of Defendant Arne Duncan ("Duncan"), the Secretary of the United States Department of Education ("DOE"), to dismiss pro se Plaintiff Levante Washington's ("Washington") Amended Complaint ("Complaint") for failure to state a cause of action, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (ECF No. 13.) Duncan contends that Washington's Complaint must be dismissed because it fails to...
DECISION AND ORDER RUDOLPH T. RANDA, District Judge. The plaintiff has filed a renewed motion to appoint counsel (ECF No. 94). He asserts that he needs an attorney to take necessary depositions and that he is encountering multiple obstacles in discovery due to the defendants' resistance. The plaintiff further asserts that his lack of legal experience puts him at a disadvantage in countering the defendants' discovery tactics. The Brown County defendants contend that the Court should deny the...
ORDER STEPHEN L. CROCKER, Magistrate Judge. On December 17, 2014, pro se plaintiff Umar Paracha filed a reply to defendants' affirmative defenses, prompting a motion to strike from the defendants. The court will grant defendants' motion to strike plaintiff's reply. Here's why: Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b) permits a defendant in a civil lawsuit to avoid further litigation of the case if the defendant can show that the plaintiff's allegations of fact, even if accepted as true, do not state a legal...
ORDER BARBARA B. CRABB, District Judge. In 2007, pro se prisoner Mustafa-El K.A. Ajala was disciplined for various offenses such as gang activity and conspiring to riot. In this case brought under 42 U.S.C. 1983, plaintiff alleges that the charges were fabricated to retaliate against him for filing a grievance about prison conditions and to discriminate against him on the basis of race and religion. In addition, he contends that defendants Michael Delvaux and Patrick Brandt, the hearing...
OPINION & ORDER WILLIAM M. CONLEY, District Judge. A hailstorm on April 3, 2011 dented metal roof panels on a number of properties belonging to plaintiffs Welton Enterprises, Inc., Welton Family Limited Partnerships and 3PP Plus Limited Partnership (collectively, "Welton"). Although the properties were insured, The Cincinnati Insurance Company ("Cincinnati Insurance") has refused to pay, contending that there is no coverage for the denting under the terms of the insurance policy. Accordingly,...
OPINION & ORDER WILLIAM M. CONLEY , District Judge . On appeal from this court's original summary judgment decision, the Federal Circuit determined as a matter of law that defendant Buyers Products Company, via its SnowDogg snowplow assemblies, infringed independent claim 45 of plaintiff Douglas Dynamics, LLC's U.S. Patent No. Re. 35,700 "Removable Snowplow Assembly with Pivotable Lift Stand." Accordingly, the court remanded this case for a determination of: (1) infringement of dependent...
DECISION AND ORDER RUDOLPH T. RANDA, District Judge. The plaintiff, Complete Women's Imaging, P.C. ("CWI"), moves to remand this matter to Milwaukee County Circuit Court pursuant to a forum selection clause in its contract with Merge Healthcare, Inc. The clause provides that the parties "irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin to resolve any dispute arising hereunder or related hereto." Merge argues that this clause does not...
DECISION AND ORDER RUDOLPH T. RANDA, District Judge. This matter comes before the Court on Carol L. Vandenbrande's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal from the denial of her application for social security disability benefits. Vandenbrande's petition demonstrates an inability to pay the costs associated with this lawsuit, and the complaint reveals an actionable claim for relief. 28 U.S.C. 1915. Therefore, Vandenbrande's motion [ECF No. 2] is GRANTED. SO ORDERED.
ORDER PETER OPPENEER, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Roosevelt M. Williams has submitted a certified inmate trust fund account statement for the six month period preceding his complaint. Accordingly, the court must determine whether plaintiff qualifies for indigent status and, if so, calculate an initial partial payment of the $350.00 fee for filing this case. In determining whether a prisoner litigant qualifies for indigent status this court applies the formula set forth in 28 U.S.C. 1915(b)(...
ORDER PETER OPPENEER, Magistrate Judge. On November 25, 2014, I assessed petitioner James Grant a partial payment of the $5 filing fee in the amount of $2.59 and gave him until December 14, 2014, in which to make the payment. Now petitioner has filed motions to waive the initial partial filing fee. Although petitioner asserts that his lack of income precludes him from paying the assessed amount, I cannot find that he qualifies for a waiver of the partial filing fee. This court uses one...
OPINION AND ORDER BARBARA B. CRABB, District Judge. In this proposed class action, plaintiff Andrew Drake alleges that he and other employees like him have worked overtime for defendant Aerotek, Inc. without appropriate pay under Wisconsin wage and hour laws. Before the court is plaintiff's motion to compel discovery related to putative class members, current and former managers of class members, current and former office directors and certain documents in defendant's possession. Because...
ORDER PETER OPPENEER, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff has submitted a motion for an order directing prison officials to pay the remainder of his filing fee from his release account. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, an inmate who files a lawsuit in federal court under the in forma pauperis statute must pay the $350 filing fee, first by making an initial partial payment and then by sending the remainder of the fee to the court in installments of 20% of the preceding month's income, in...
ORDER PETER OPPENEER, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff has submitted a motion for an order directing prison officials to pay the remainder of his filing fees from his release account. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, an inmate who files a lawsuit in federal court under the in forma pauperis statute must pay the $350 filing fee, first by making an initial partial payment and then by sending the remainder of the fee to the court in installments of 20% of the preceding month's income, in...
ORDER JAMES D. PETERSON, District Judge. Plaintiff Golf Solutions I, LLC, filed this suit against defendants Prestige Flag Manufacturing Company, Inc., and Michael L. Roberts, alleging the breach of three contracts. Dkt. 4. Golf Solutions also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against both Prestige and Roberts asking this court to compel immediate payment of amounts due under a promissory note. Dkt. 6. Golf Solutions must address a preliminary issue before the court can address the...
ORDER WILLIAM M. CONLEY, District Judge. On January 19, 2012, the court issued an order and judgment remanding this case to the commissioner for further proceedings under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g) pursuant to stipulation of the parties. Now before the court is plaintiff Abbi-Jane Lau attorney's supplemental petition for fees pursuant to 406(b)(1) in the amount of $4,646.48. Defendant does not object to this motion. Fees under 42 U.S.C. 406 As part of its judgment, a court may...
DECISION AND ORDER LYNN ADELMAN, District Judge. I. BACKGROUND At age 65, most Americans become eligible for Medicare, and Medicare becomes their primary source of health insurance. However, Medicare does not cover all health-related expenses. For years, defendant General Electric Company ("GE") offered its over-65 retirees several health insurance plans (the "Plans") which supplement Medicare. Defendant recently announced that it intended to terminate these Plans. Plaintiffs Evelyn Kaufman...
ORDER NANCY JOSEPH, Magistrate Judge. Jeffery M. Pedersen ("Pedersen"), a prisoner in Wisconsin custody, seeks a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. Currently pending before the Court is the respondent's motion to dismiss the petition for writ of habeas corpus on the grounds that the petition is time barred. (Docket # 17.) One exception to an untimely filed habeas petition is the doctrine of equitable tolling, which the State has argued does not apply to Pedersen. ( Id. at 9.)...
