Author: LawtonCates
Whenever I get too discouraged by the state of affairs in America, I think of men like Dick Cates and say a small prayer of gratitude that the country raises up men like him in times of crisis. Cates, who died last week at age 85, was a Madison trial attorney. He’s probably best known […]
LawtonCates attorneys Dixon Gahnz and Terrence Polich have been selected to the 2020 Wisconsin Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding […]
Student loan borrowers and others may have been taken advantage of by online tax filing programs. If you made payments on student loans in 2019, and filed your taxes online, you may have been tricked into paying for products you didn’t need or being charged for filing your taxes when you should have been allowed […]
The state Department of Natural Resources and the village of East Troy in Walworth County are the subjects of a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit filed last week by several individuals and two lake management districts over potential damage to a spring-fed lake and nearby wetlands by a proposed municipal high-capacity well. The well could pump 1.4 […]
Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year? Throwing a holiday or New Year’s party? Driving to or from any of these festivities? As we prepare to celebrate with friends and family, here are a few tips to get everyone home safe and sound! Holiday parties can create a legal hangover if guests are injured or […]
The Residential Rental Practices Code requires landlords to maintain their rental properties in a reasonably safe manner. The landlord is also required to tell potential renters of any dangerous condition that the landlord knows about or should have known about if they did a reasonable inspection. The code can be found at: www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/atcp/atcp134.pdf. The purpose of the […]
With the kids back in school and Halloween around the corner, fall is in full swing. We hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful summer. This newsletter features safety tips for those of you hoping to help aging relatives stay in their homes. Nearly everyone nearing retirement age will tell you they would […]
If you aren’t grilling already, you probably will be soon – or at least joining friends and family for a festive summer barbeque. So whether you are wearing the apron or are just a hungry bystander, here are some timely tips on fun and safe grilling. Ah, there it is — the unmistakable aroma of […]
The state and federal constitutions guarantee citizens of Wisconsin the right to a civil trial by jury. Yet, the so-called tort reformers want to limit your rights under the constitution. These attacks come in many forms such as making it more difficult to file a lawsuit, adding protections for corporate defendants, and damage caps. The […]
It is amazing how much our country, and the world, has changed within the last 1 to 2 weeks. A short time ago I was in a contested workers compensation hearing with a client who had been waiting approximately three years to get her case resolved. The next day it seemed like the entire world […]