State Ex Rel. Citydeck Landing LLC v. Circuit Court for Brown Cnty.

2019 WI 15, 922 N.W.2d 832, 385 Wis. 2d 516
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 21, 2019
Docket2018AP000291-W
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2019 WI 15 (State Ex Rel. Citydeck Landing LLC v. Circuit Court for Brown Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Citydeck Landing LLC v. Circuit Court for Brown Cnty., 2019 WI 15, 922 N.W.2d 832, 385 Wis. 2d 516 (Wis. 2019).

Opinions

REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J.

*835*522¶1 The circuit court ordered the arbitration of a private construction dispute stayed until it could decide an insurance coverage dispute between one of the contractors connected to the arbitration and the contractor's insurer. CityDeck Landing LLC petitions this court, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.71 (2015-16),1 for a supervisory writ. CityDeck asks this court to exercise its superintending constitutional authority to vacate the circuit court's2 order. CityDeck asserts the circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction by putting the private arbitration3 on hold, and that a supervisory writ is necessary to correct the circuit court's extra-jurisdictional act. We hold the circuit court lacked the authority to issue the order staying the arbitration, the requirements necessary to issue a supervisory writ have been satisfied, and the stay order must be vacated.

I. BACKGROUND

¶2 In December 2013, CityDeck hired Smet Construction Services Corporation as its general contractor to construct an apartment building called "CityDeck Residences" in Green Bay. Smet hired subcontractors, including GB Builders of Northeastern Wisconsin, LLC; Lunda Construction Company; Security-Luebke Roofing, *523Inc.; and Lakeland Construction, Inc. The construction contract required any disputes to be resolved by arbitration. A dispute arose and in May 2016, CityDeck filed for arbitration against Smet, alleging breach of the construction contract and theft by contractor. It filed an amended demand for arbitration in November 2016. In July 2017, Smet sought to bring the subcontractors into the arbitration because it contended the subcontractors were responsible for the problems and each of the subcontracts contained an indemnity provision requiring the subcontractor to "defend, indemnify and hold [Smet] harmless." Most of the subcontractors voluntarily joined the arbitration. GB Builders notified its insurer, Society Insurance, of the claim, and Society hired an attorney to represent GB Builders under a reservation of rights. In August 2017, Smet tendered the defense of the CityDeck claim to Society, asserting it was an additional insured under the insurance policy Society issued to GB Builders. In October 2017, GB Builders filed an answer to Smet's demand for arbitration, asking the arbitrator for dismissal. The arbitrator scheduled the arbitration hearing for March 1, 2018. *836¶3 In October 2017, however, Society Insurance filed a declaratory judgment complaint in Brown County Circuit Court against CityDeck, Smet, and GB Builders. Society sought a declaration "on the scope of its insurance duties" to Smet and GB Builders with respect to CityDeck's construction claims under arbitration. Society asked the circuit court to stay the arbitration until it could decide the insurance coverage issue. The circuit court granted Society's request and ordered the arbitration stayed on January 2, 2018.

¶4 CityDeck asserted the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to order a private arbitration stayed, particularly when the circuit court action and the arbitration *524involved different issues and different parties; three subcontractors who were parties to the arbitration were not named in the circuit court suit. CityDeck filed a motion asking the circuit court to reconsider its decision. The circuit court ignored CityDeck's motion to reconsider, and CityDeck filed a petition for a supervisory writ in the court of appeals. The court of appeals construed the petition as an appeal from a non-final order and denied the petition. CityDeck filed a petition for a supervisory writ with this court. We accepted jurisdiction over CityDeck's petition and heard oral argument.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Historical Analysis

¶5 Wisconsin cases contain inconsistencies regarding writ procedure, terminology, and the standards applicable to the exercise of our constitutional superintending authority. For the sake of clarity, we set forth the history of writs requested under our superintending authority, the origin of the term "supervisory writ," and an unexplained discrepancy in our cases illuminated in State ex rel. Beaudry v. Panosian, 35 Wis. 2d 418, 151 N.W.2d 48 (1967).

1. History of writ procedure

¶6 Article VII, § 3 of the Wisconsin Constitution gives the supreme court "superintending and administrative authority over all courts" and the ability to "issue all writs necessary in aid of its jurisdiction."4

*525Interpreting this provision, this court held that "[the supreme court] was endowed with a separate and independent jurisdiction, which enables and requires it in a proper case to control the course of ordinary litigation in such inferior courts, and was also endowed with all the common-law writs applicable to that jurisdiction." State ex rel. Fourth Nat'l Bank of Phila. v. Johnson, 103 Wis. 591, 613, 79 N.W. 1081 (1899). This court concluded that "when the makers of the constitution used the words 'superintending control over all inferior courts' they definitely referred to that well-known superintending jurisdiction of the court of king's bench." Id. at 614, 79 N.W. 1081. "The two great writs by which this superintending jurisdiction was principally exercised by the court of King's bench were the writs of mandamus and prohibition; the one directing action by the inferior court, and the other forbidding action." Id.

¶7 A writ of prohibition "restrain[s] a court in the exercise of judicial functions outside or beyond its jurisdiction, and when there is no other adequate remedy."

*837State ex rel. Attorney Gen. v. Circuit Court of Eau Claire Cty., 97 Wis. 1, 15, 72 N.W. 193 (1897). See also State ex rel. De Puy v. Evans, 88 Wis. 255

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Bluebook (online)
2019 WI 15, 922 N.W.2d 832, 385 Wis. 2d 516, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-citydeck-landing-llc-v-circuit-court-for-brown-cnty-wis-2019.