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Longtime lawyer sues city
Complaint cites negligence after fall on street in icy conditions
Courthouse

MONROE — The founder of a law firm that has been arguing on behalf of those with personal injuries for nearly 40 years in Monroe has taken on a case of his own against the City of Monroe.

Gregory Knoke of Knoke, Ingebritsen & Kind Law filed a claim with the city January 2017, according to court records. This was roughly two weeks after he said he slipped on ice and fell while attempting to get out of his car on the street across from his office in the 1900 block of 10th Street. 

The city did not respond to the claim that Knoke was “greatly injured” as a result of the conditions of the curb and gutter within 120 days, effectively denying the claim that the city “breached its statutory duty” by allowing ice to accumulate for over three weeks. 

Court action followed. In his lawsuit complaint, filed with Green County Circuit Court in October, Knoke argued he broke his hip in the fall and required expensive medical care while he was unable to work, which negatively impacted himself and his wife. Through attorneys Robert Kasieta and Jennifer Limbach of Kasieta Legal Group LLC of Madison, Knoke argues that his wife also suffered when he was unable to provide income due to the injury. 

Through Wisconsin State Statute 893.80, a municipality can only be sued for up to $50,000. Knoke has requested the limit be exceeded due to pain and suffering and medical care while hospitalized and rehabilitative care in a nursing home. However, suit documents have not yet provided a total for the costs. The plaintiffs argue the future costs of care are still unknown.

Knoke specified in the suit that either the city knew about layers of ice and dangerous conditions and did nothing to address it or did not conduct proper inspections to identify the problem. His representatives wrote that Knoke now suffers from permanent pain and a noticeable limp.

Attorneys from Stafford Rosenbaum LLP of Madison are representing Monroe. In court documents, they responded to the complaint by denying all claims of negligence and rebutted the claim made by Knoke that he took care in exiting his vehicle on the street the day he fell. They wrote that Knoke and his attorneys had a lack of evidence to support the claims and that the allegations were “sufficiently vague,” demanding a 12-person jury in the suit on July 17. 

On Aug. 21, Limbach and Monroe attorney Kyle Engelke appeared for a scheduling conference on behalf of their clients. According to the court record, Limbach requested a trial of 12 jurors for the plaintiffs. 

However, a trial will likely not happen within the next year. A final pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 9, 2019 at the Green County Justice Center.