Summary of a Recent
Judicial Development in
Agriculture and Urbanization

Treble Damages Not Allowed in Stray
Voltage Lawsuit

Ross H. Pifer
National AgLaw Center Graduate Assistant

In Allen v. Wisconsin Public Service Corp., 694 N.W.2d 420 (Wisc. Ct. App. 2005), dairy farmer Russell Allen received an award of damages in a stray voltage lawsuit filed against his electric company. Allen argued that he was entitled to treble damages under Wisconsin law because the electric company acted with a "willful, wanton, or reckless disregard of his rights." Id. at 428. The court stated that the electric company conducted several tests for stray voltage on Allen's farm, but none of these tests noted the presence of stray voltage. See id. The court also stated that the record did not support "Allen's arguments that [the electric company] falsified the results of the testing." Id. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin concluded that "Allen ha[d] not shown that [the electric company] acted willfully, wantonly or recklessly." Id.

The case was decided on February 15, 2005; this summary was posted June 10, 2005.



  

This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under Agreement No. 59-8201-9-115. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The National AgLaw Center is a federally funded research institution located at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville.

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