Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
Z

Ziervogel v. Washington County Board of Adjustment

676 N.W.2d 401 (2004)

From our private database of 47,000+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Ziervogel v. Washington County Board of Adjustment

Wisconsin Supreme Court
676 N.W.2d 401 (2004)

  • Written by Galina Abdel Aziz , JD

Facts

Richard Ziervogel and Maureen McGinnity (plaintiffs) owned a 1.4-acre property in West Bend, Washington County (the county). The property had 200 feet of lake frontage and a 1600-square-foot house with a legal 26-foot setback from the high-water mark of the lake. In 2001, the county amended its shoreland-zoning ordinance to prohibit the expansion of any portion of an existing structure within 50 feet of the high-water mark of the lake. Ziervogel and McGinnity wanted to construct a 10-foot addition to their house, but the addition would have violated the amended ordinance, so Ziervogel and McGinnity applied for a variance from the Washington County Board of Adjustment (the board) (defendant). The board denied the variance because Ziervogel and McGinnity had not proven that they had no reasonable use of the property without the variance. Ziervogel and McGinnity petitioned the circuit court, which upheld the board’s decision. The appellate court affirmed. Ziervogel and McGinnity appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Sykes, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 899,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,000 briefs, keyed to 994 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 47,000 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Land Use

Key Terms