Title: Michael W. Bruzas v. Cipriano Quezada-Garcia

State: wisconsin

Issuer: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Document:

2001 WI 127 
 
 
 
SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN 
 
 
 
 
 
CASE NO.: 
00-0043 
 
COMPLETE TITLE: 
 
 
Michael W. Bruzas, Constance K. Bruzas  
and Christopher A. Bruzas,  
 
Plaintiffs, 
 
v. 
Cipriano Quezada-Garcia and Elida Torres,  
 
Defendants, 
American Family Mutual Insurance Company,  
 
Defendant-Appellant, 
Employers Insurance of Wausau,  
 
Subrogated Party, 
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.,  
 
Subrogated Party-Respondent. 
 
 
 
 
ON CERTIFICATION FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS 
 
 
OPINION FILED: 
December 4, 2001   
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: 
        
ORAL ARGUMENT: 
September 12, 2001   
 
 
SOURCE OF APPEAL: 
 
 
COURT: 
Circuit   
 
COUNTY: 
Kenosha   
 
JUDGE: 
Mary Kay Wagner-Malloy   
 
 
 
JUSTICES: 
 
 
CONCURRED: 
        
 
DISSENTED: 
        
 
NOT PARTICIPATING:         
 
 
 
ATTORNEYS: 
 
For the defendant-appellant there were briefs by Thomas M. 
Devine, JoAnne M. Breese-Jaeck and Hostak, Henzl & Bichler, 
S.C., Racine, and oral argument by JoAnne M. Breese-Jaeck. 
 
For the subrogated party-respondent there was a brief by 
Thomas H. Koch and Law Offices of Thomas H. Koch, Milwaukee, and 
oral argument by Thomas H. Koch. 
 
An amicus curiae brief was filed by John H. Bowers, Aaron 
N. Halstead and Shneidman, Hawks & Ehlke, S.C., Madison, on 
behalf of the Wisconsin Masons’ Health Care Fund and Local #383 
Ironworkers Health Care Plan. 
 
 
2
 
 
2001 WI 127 
NOTICE 
This opinion is subject to further 
editing and modification.  The 
final version will appear in the 
bound volume of the official 
reports.   
No.  00-0043  
(L.C. No. 
97 CV 403) 
STATE OF WISCONSIN  
 
 
   : 
IN SUPREME COURT 
 
 
Michael W. Bruzas, Constance K. Bruzas  
and Christopher A. Bruzas,  
 
          Plaintiffs, 
 
     v. 
 
Cipriano Quezada-Garcia and Elida Torres,  
 
          Defendants, 
 
American Family Mutual Insurance Company,  
 
          Defendant-Appellant, 
 
Employers Insurance of Wausau,  
 
          Subrogated Party, 
 
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.,  
 
          Subrogated Party-Respondent. 
 
FILED 
 
DEC 4, 2001 
 
Cornelia G. Clark 
Clerk of Supreme Court 
 
 
 
 
 
APPEAL from an order of the Circuit Court for Kenosha 
County, Mary K. Wagner-Malloy, Judge.  Certification dismissed 
as improvidently granted and cause remanded.       
 
No. 
00-0043   
 
2 
 
¶1 
PER CURIAM.  This case is before the court on 
certification from the court of appeals pursuant to Wis. Stat. 
§ (Rule) 809.61 on the question of "whether an ERISA health 
benefit plan must expressly confer discretion to the plan 
administrator before a reviewing court owes deference to the 
administrator's interpretations of the plan and actions taken 
under the plan."  
¶2 
The underlying issue is whether the subrogation clause 
in Underwriters Laboratories' ERISA plan allows subrogation 
where the plan beneficiary has not been made whole.  We accepted 
the court of appeals' certification on the standard of review 
question noted above. 
¶3 
At oral argument, counsel acknowledged that the record 
contains no explicit subrogation determination by the plan 
administrator, nor any explicit interpretation of the plan's 
subrogation language by the plan administrator.  While a 
determination 
or 
interpretation 
might 
be 
implicit 
in 
Underwriters Laboratories' subrogation claim, counsel conceded 
that 
the 
plan 
administrator 
has 
not 
in 
fact 
issued 
a 
determination 
or interpretation of 
the 
plan's 
subrogation 
clause.  As such, a decision about the applicable standard of 
review upon judicial review is premature.  We therefore dismiss 
the certification as improvidently granted and remand the case 
to the court of appeals for proceedings consistent with this 
opinion.   
No. 
00-0043   
 
3 
 
By the Court.—The certification from the court of appeals 
is dismissed as improvidently granted and the cause remanded to 
the court of appeals.   
 
 
 
No. 
00-0043   
 
 
 
1