Attorney Sausser Presented at Government and Public Service Day

Attorney Sausser Presented at Government and Public Service Day

Attorney Jason Sausser

Attorney Jason Sausser recently had the honor of speaking to the Leadership Portage County (LPC) cohort, sharing the rich legacy and values of Anderson O’Brien. Our firm was a co-sponsor for the Government and Public Service Day. The LPC program fosters leadership development through meaningful networking, community engagement, and service. We are proud to have had several of our attorneys complete this impactful program over the years.

 

Judicare Mediation Services

Judicare Mediation Services

Judicare Mediation

Our firm receives many calls regarding small claims cases. One issue that immediately becomes a problem is that small claims are limited to damages under $10,000. Legal fees a client pays to us will cut into those damages very quickly, without any guarantee of a court win. This can make it difficult to fiscally justify being hired onto a small claims case. 

Recently, Judicare opened a free mediation program for small claims cases in Portage County. If you go to a small claims return date, you will see Judicare mediators milling about waiting to help people try and solve their disputes without further litigation. 

Their website says “Even if you have not yet filed a lawsuit, you can still request Judicare to mediate a dispute between you and another party.” This makes their services incredibly valuable because you may be able to resolve a dispute before you begin to incur any court fees. 

There are certainly cases that have long-term effects or are more legally complex and should involve a lawyer. Mediation requires the other party to participate, and so there are plenty of cases that cannot be solved through mediation simply because of the parties involved. But, if you are considering filing a lawsuit in Small Claims Court in Portage County, it may be worth your time to contact Judicare to see if they can help mediate your dispute before you or the other party start paying court or legal fees. 

Please go to the Judicare’s website for more information. If you are in another county, check Judicare’s website to see if they offer this program in your county. https://www.judicare.org/mediation/

What Are The Rules For Emotional Support Animals When Renting?

What Are The Rules For Emotional Support Animals When Renting?

What are the rules for landlords and tenants when it comes to emotional support animals?

For landlords there are important rules to follow to avoid running afoul with Wisconsin and Federal Discrimination laws.

An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is defined in Wis. Stat. §106.50 as “an animal that provides emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship for an individual but that is not trained to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.” That means that an ESA does not need any specific training in order to qualify under this statute.

In general ESAs are protected and landlords cannot discriminate against tenants with ESAs and must provide reasonable accommodations for owners of ESAs during the application process, when deciding on fees or in an eviction. The ESA must be necessary to afford the tenant the equal opportunity to use the dwelling and there needs to be a connection between the disability of the tenant and the accommodation the ESA provides.

Landlords can request the tenant seeking the accommodation to submit “reliable documentation” from a licensed health professional that shows (1) the tenant has a disability and (2) the related need for the ESA. If the disability and the need for the ESA are readily apparent or already known by the landlord, the landlord should not require the tenant to provide this documentation because that could be considered harassment.

Landlords can follow-up with the listed licensed health professional to ensure the professional is real and licensed. The health professional will not be able to discuss the tenant’s health with the landlord without violating HIPPA. However, it is likely that if the tenant supplies the landlord with a letter, the health professional will be willing to acknowledge they wrote a letter for the client. This should give the landlord comfort in knowing that the tenant is likely not lying.

If the tenant can provide the necessary paperwork, landlords cannot refuse housing, impose fines, evict or harass the tenant as a result of the ESA and must provide reasonable accommodations. The most common accommodations are (1) allowing the tenant to live with an ESA where the landlord normally has a no-pets policy or (2) waiving any pet deposit or other pet related fee.

From the legal perspective, ESAs are not “pets” and are closer to medical devices that the tenant needs in order to have an equal opportunity to enjoy the housing. This is an important distinction and can help landlords justify letting one tenant have an ESA but not allowing another tenant to have a pet.

Even though the tenant cannot be forced to pay a deposit or fee for having the ESA in the dwelling, the tenant is still liable “for sanitation with respect to, and damage to the premises caused by the [ESA].” This means that a landlord does not need to take on any extra liability when it comes to the ESA. Upon termination of the lease, the landlord should check for any sanitation issues with or damage to the property, because those are things that the tenant is responsible for and for which the tenant cannot receive accommodations.

Is Joint Representation a Good Idea?

Is Joint Representation a Good Idea?

It is common for a group of people to want one attorney to represent them all in a legal matter. Whether it is a married couple looking for estate planning representation or if it is two people who own a property together and are both looking to evict a tenant or sell the property.

Attorneys can be expensive, so from an economic standpoint, it can be financially beneficial to have one attorney rather than paying two or more attorneys to work with you.

This may seem like a great idea, but for an attorney, it may cause some tricky ethical problems. Attorneys are inclined to zealously advocate for their clients. This can be difficult when there is more than one client involved. If the individuals that are being represented by one attorney, do not agree on the right way forward there can be issues. The individuals may even decide they want different things throughout the process.

In this scenario, you can expect the attorney to request to be allowed to withdraw as counsel because the attorney will not be able to take any action when it is against what one of the clients wants. If client “A” wants to dismiss the case, but client “B” wants to keep going, the attorney will not be able to do either action without going against one of their wishes and will need to withdraw.

Another issue for people considering joint representation is that the attorney-client privilege applies to the group of clients. That means if there is anything client “A” is trying to keep secret from the client “B”, the Attorney will be allowed to tell client “B.” Moreover, the attorney likely has to tell client “B” in order to protect client “B’s” interest in the matter.

If you are considering having one attorney represent you and another person or other people, be sure you have thought about what happens if you all disagree. You may save money if things go as planned. But, you may still have to hire a separate attorney to represent you, if complications arise between you and the other clients.

If you find yourself in this situation, please contact one of our experienced attorneys.

What is a Guardian Ad Litem?

What is a Guardian Ad Litem?

A Guardian ad litem (GAL) is an attorney who is appointed by the Court to represent the best interests of a minor child. If the parties are represented by counsel, the attorneys often give their recommendation to the Court about who they think would be a good fit as GAL. The GAL is required to have had specific training and/or extensive experience in order to qualify. The Wisconsin State Bar has regular basic trainings for GALs with other more advanced trainings for things such as investigating domestic violence. Some Wisconsin counties keep attorneys on contract throughout the year to serve as GALs in cases.

An important distinction to make is that the GAL does not represent the minor child. Only the minor
child’s “best interests.” The main difference here is that a GAL is not bound to do what the minor child
asks them to do. By contract, an advocate attorney is more bound to do what their client asks them to. See Wis. Stat. § 767.407(4) for more information on this. Instead, the wishes of the minor child are one of the factors that a GAL takes into account when making their recommendation to the Court.

When a GAL is appointed, the parties may be ordered to pay a deposit toward the GAL’s fees. It is
typical for both parties to be responsible for paying one-half of the fees. Different counties
require different down payments and allow GALs to charge different rates.Once the GAL is appointed and any required deposits are paid, they will begin theirinvestigation. They mostly focus on custody and placement issues. They will likely want tospeak with any lawyers on the case, both parties individually, the minor child and other people who have relevant information (i.e., teachers, day care providers, relatives, medical and other treatmentproviders, or child welfare agencies). The GAL may see a need for further professionals to get involvedand conduct investigations such as custody studies or psychological evaluations. Additionally, GALs arerequired by law to investigate and report to the Court if there is any evidence of domestic abuse.

The GAL will prepare an official report to the Court which outlines their recommendation, taking
into consideration any and all evidence of the issues that they believe would be used at a potential trial.

They will include a proposed placement schedule that is in the best interests of the child. The GAL may participate in any depositions or contested hearings which involve custody and placement. They can cross-examine the parties’ witnesses and even call their own witnesses to introduce evidence to the Court.

If a GAL has been appointed to your case, you will want to cooperate with their investigation. If you have an attorney, you will want your attorney to communicate regularly with the GAL to make sure they have everything they need to determine what is in the best interest of the minor child.