Murphy Desmond Work Cited Extensively by State High Court

Attorneys Bob Pasch and Brian Thill, co-authors of Wisconsin Collection Law, recently had their publication cited on numerous occasions in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin’s decision in Associated Bank v. Collier. The case involved a collection dispute among competing creditors. Interestingly, both the majority and the dissent cited the 2-volume treatise in support of their positions. The majority quoted Wisconsin Collection Law to affirm that a supplemental examination, or post-judgment deposition, is merely a discovery tool. Whereas, the dissent extensively quoted the same work to argue that the majority was contorting and “blithely” overturning 150 years of Wisconsin law by failing to recognize a common law creditor’s lien that arises in connection with the supplemental examination process. The practical effect of Collier is to introduce new uncertainty into collection actions and potentially take away a useful tool from judgment creditors.