Title: Great West Casualty Company, Inc. v. Wisconsin Electric Power Company
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 1994AP001991
State: Wisconsin
Issuer: Wisconsin Supreme Court
Date: June 20, 1997

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN 
 
 
Case No.: 
94-1991 
 
 
Complete Title 
of Case: 
 
Jane DeRuyter, Jason DeRuyter and   
Travis DeRuyter, by Donald J. Jacquart,   
their Guardian Ad Litem and the Estate   
of Glenn R. DeRuyter, by Eric E.   
Eberhardt, Special Administrator of the   
Estate of Glenn R. DeRuyter,   
    Plaintiffs-Respondents-Co-Petitioner,   
     v.   
Wisconsin Electric Power Company,   
    Defendant-Appellant,   
Great West Casualty Company, Inc.,  
    Defendant-Respondent-Petitioner,  
American Standard Insurance Company   
and Michael T. Schmaling,   
    Defendants-Respondents,  
Employers Insurance of Wausau, A Mutual  
Company,  
    Defendant.   
-------------------------------------  
Great West Casualty Company, Inc., JJ Transport,  
Inc., Power Transport, Inc., and Cedarland  
Trucking, Inc.,   
        Plaintiffs-Respondents-Co-  
        Petitioners,  
         v.  
Wisconsin Electric Power Company,   
        Defendant-Appellant,  
American Standard Insurance Company of  
Wisconsin and Michael T. Schmaling,   
        Defendants-Respondents.  
  
 
 
ON REVIEW OF A DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS 
Reported at:  200 Wis. 2d 349, 546 N.W.2d 534 
 
 
(Ct. App. 1996) 
 
 
PUBLISHED 
 
 
Opinion Filed: 
June 20, 1997 
Submitted on Briefs: 
 
Oral Argument: 
March 5, 1997 
 
 
Source of APPEAL 
 
COURT: 
Circuit 
 
COUNTY: 
Milwaukee 
 
JUDGE: 
John E. McCormick 
 
 
JUSTICES: 
 
Concurred: 
 
 
Dissented: 
 
 
Not Participating:  
Crooks, J., did not participate. 
 
 
ATTORNEYS: 
For the defendant/plaintiff-respondent-
petitioner/co-petitioner, Great West Casualty Company, Inc., 
there were briefs by Douglas J. Carroll, and O'Neill, Schimmel, 
Quirk & Carroll, S.C., Milwaukee. 
 
 
For the plaintiffs-respondents-co-petitioners 
there were briefs by David P. Lowe, Donald J. Jacquart and 
Jacquart & Lowe, S.C., Milwaukee and Michael P. Crooks and 
Peterson, Johnson & Murray, S.C., Madison and oral argument by 
David P. Lowe and Michael P. Crooks. 
 
 
For the defendant-appellant there was a brief by 
Jeffrey Morris and Quarles & Brady, Milwaukee and oral argument 
by Jeffrey Morris. 
 
 
 
Amicus curiae brief was filed by Michael H. 
Gillick and Murphy, Gillick, Wicht & Prachthauser, Milwaukee for 
the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers. 
 
 
Amicus curiae brief was filed by Patrick K. 
Stevens, Werner E. Scherr, Jeffrey S. Meyer, Michael A. Greene, 
Jerome D. Okarma and Edwina A. Wilson for Manufacturers & 
Commerce, Milwaukee Transport Servcies, Inc., Harnischfeger 
Industries, Inc., Johnson Controls, Inc., Wisconsin Bell, Inc., 
and General Electric Medical Systems. 
 
No. 94-1991 
 
1 
 
NOTICE 
This opinion is subject to further editing 
and modification.  The final version will 
appear in the bound volume of the official 
reports. 
 
 
No. 94-1991 
 
STATE OF WISCONSIN               :        
        
 
 
 
 
IN SUPREME COURT 
 
 
Jane DeRuyter, Jason DeRuyter and Travis 
DeRuyter, by Donald J. Jacquart, their 
Guardian Ad Litem and the Estate of Glenn 
R. DeRuyter, by Eric E. Eberhardt, Special 
Administrator of the Estate of Glenn R. 
DeRuyter, 
 
  
Plaintiffs-Respondents-Co-Petitioner, 
 
 
v. 
 
Wisconsin Electric Power Company, 
 
 
Defendant-Appellant, 
 
Great West Casualty Company, Inc., 
 
 
Defendant-Respondent-Petitioner, 
 
American Standard Insurance Company and  
Michael T. Schmaling, 
 
 
Defendants-Respondents, 
 
Employers Insurance of Wausau, A Mutual 
Company, 
 
 
Defendant. 
 
 
 
 
FILED 
 
JUN 20, 1997 
 
Marilyn L. Graves 
Clerk of Supreme Court 
Madison, WI 
 
 
 
Great West Casualty Company, Inc., JJ 
Transport, Inc., Power Transport, Inc., 
and Cedarland Trucking, Inc., 
 
 
 
Plaintiffs-Respondents-Co- 
 
 
Petitioners, 
 
 
v. 
 
 
No. 94-1991 
 
2 
 
Wisconsin Electric Power Company, 
 
 
 
Defendant-Appellant, 
 
American Standard Insurance Company of 
Wisconsin and Michael T. Schmaling, 
 
 
 
Defendants-Respondents. 
 
 
 
REVIEW of a published decision of the Court of Appeals
1 
reversing the decision of the Circuit Court for Milwaukee 
County, John E. McCormick, Judge.  Affirmed. 
 
¶1 
PER CURIAM.  This court is equally divided on whether 
to affirm or reverse the decision of the court of appeals.  
Justice Donald W. Steinmetz, Justice Jon P. Wilcox, and Justice 
Ann Walsh Bradley would affirm; Chief Justice Shirley S. 
Abrahamson, Justice William A. Bablitch, and Justice Janine P. 
Geske would reverse.  Justice N. Patrick Crooks did not 
participate. 
 
¶2 
Accordingly, the decision of the court of appeals is 
affirmed. 
 
 
                     
1 DeRuyter v. Wisconsin Electric Power Co., 200 Wis. 2d 349, 
546 N.W.2d 534 (Ct. App. 1996).