Anderson v. Aul
Wisconsin Supreme Court
862 N.W.2d 304 (2015)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Melissa and Kenneth Anderson (plaintiffs) sent a letter to their attorney, Thomas Aul (defendant), that in substance warned him to expect a malpractice claim. Aul had insurance through Wisconsin Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company (WILMIC), but he did not notify WILMIC of the potential claim until nearly a year after his policy expired. Aul had a claims-made-and-reported policy, meaning Aul had to report the claim to WILMIC before the policy expired for WILMIC to cover the claim. The Andersons sued Aul and several of his companies (defendants) a year later. WILMIC intervened in the lawsuit and asked the court to determine whether the claim was covered. Wisconsin had a notice-prejudice statute that said late notice of a claim under a liability-insurance policy would not bar coverage, unless timely notice was reasonably possible, and the delay prejudiced the insurer. The trial court granted WILMIC summary judgment, but the appellate court reversed under the notice-prejudice statute, reasoning the delay had not prejudiced WILMIC. WILMIC appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Abrahamson, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
