Notable Representations

John has successfully represented businesses in state and federal courts in Wisconsin, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Puerto Rico, as well as in front of numerous federal and state administrative agencies. A small sampling of these representations includes the following:

Eminent Domain

• Cascade Mountain Land Holdings, LLC v. American Transmission Company LLC et al., Columbia County Case No. 17-CV-368, (2019);  successfully represented a property-owner client involved in an eminent domain dispute, helping to obtain a multi-million dollar just compensation verdict against American Transmission Company (“ATC”) following a two-week-plus jury trial, in connection to ATC’s Badger-Coulee transmission line project.  Because the condemnation verdict was more than 15% greater than ATC’s final jurisdictional offer, ATC was also legally obligated to reimburse DeWitt’s client for all reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses it incurred in the litigation.   
  

Employment Litigation

• Successfully settled wage and hour class action brought against employer by cable installers who claimed they had been misclassified as independent contractors (W.D. Wis. 2017);


• Successfully settled non-compete enforcement action on behalf of employer that was brought against former employee who left to work for a direct competitor (Harris County, Tex. 2017);


• Obtained summary judgment and successfully defended appeal on behalf of employer with regard to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s claim that the employer’s wellness plan violated the ADA (7th Cir. 2017);


• Obtained injunction and successful settlement on behalf of employer whose former employee misappropriated/misdirected business opportunities (Dane County, Wis. 2017);


• Obtained summary judgment and successfully defended appeal on behalf of employer in case alleging various violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act with respect to information reported through HireRight, Inc. (10th Cir. 2016);


• Obtained injunction and successful settlement on behalf of employer whose former employee engaged in civil theft and misappropriated confidential information (Buffalo County, Wis. 2015);


• Obtained partial summary judgment for cable-installer employer on claims regarding alleged violations of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act in wage and hour class action matter (N. D. Ill. 2015);


• Obtained summary judgment and successfully defended appeal on behalf of employer relating to former employee’s multi-million-dollar breach of contract claims (Wis. Ct. App. 2012);


• Obtained multiple summary judgment rulings for employer on multi-plaintiff discrimination/retaliation claims (W.D. Tenn. 2010); and


• Obtained a ruling invalidating non-compete on behalf of appellants and successfully defended that ruling on appeal (Vir. Ct. App. 2007).

Other Business Litigation

• Won week-long jury trial on behalf of dairy farm in lawsuit involving competing claims for negligent misrepresentation, private nuisance and negligence (Dane County, Wis. 2017); and


• Obtained significant jury verdict on behalf of trucking company in a lawsuit involving claims for copyright infringement relating to advertising for open truck driver positions (D. Kan. 2016).