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Kerkman & Dunn
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Milwaukee, WI 53202 Toll Free: 800-613-0747
Fax: 414-277-0100
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Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-310-5500
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Milwaukee Business & Commercial Law Blog

Wisconsin dairy bankruptcy bid lost by Superior Dairy

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Chapter 11 on Friday, May 17, 2013.

Superior Dairy, which is located in Canton, Ohio, was outbid in bankruptcy court as it tried to add Golden Guernsey Dairy to its operations. Golden Guernsey Dairy is located is located just outside of Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin, had been in business for 83 years, but sought bankruptcy protection by their Chapter 11 attorneys in January 2013.

Superior Dairy's final bid in the bankruptcy auction was $7.265 million, but that bid was topped by Lifeway Foods. The Morton Grove, Illinois company won the auction with a bid of $7.4 million. The next step will be a hearing to determine if Lifeway Foods has secured the financing to back the bid. Lifeway Foods is a publicly-traded company with sales last year of $89.9 million and financing is not expected to be an issue. Should Lifeway Foods' bid not go through, though, Superior Dairy could acquire Golden Guernsey Dairy.

Espionage warning from FBI expert for biotech firms of all sizes

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Trade Secrets on Friday, May 10, 2013.

Last month, a Chinese scientist at the Medical College of Wisconsin was arrested for stealing cancer research. According to a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigations who specializes in the theft of trade secrets, that is "just the tip of the iceberg."

The agent was a speaker at University Research Park in Madison, Wisconsin, to a group of members of BioForward. He said that each year, U.S. universities and companies have over $250 billion in trade secrets and intellectual property stolen by foreign spy agencies and foreign competitors. The two countries that commit the most economic espionage are China and Russia, according to the FBI agent.

Merger: United Farmers Cooperative and Waconia Farm Supply

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Mergers & Acquisitions on Friday, May 3, 2013.

As of September 1, Waconia Farm Supply will merge into United Farmers Cooperative. The membership of Waconia Farm Supply approved a proposal that would combine the assets of the company into the other cooperative business.

There were five cooperatives that Waconia Farm Supply was considering merging with and mergers and acquisitions attorneys would have examined the deal from all possible aspects. Waconia Farm Supply deals in many areas of agriculture, including farm equipment and livestock, but also in lawnmowers, hardware stores and energy. This will be the largest merger United Farmers Cooperative has been through.

Paper mill business turns around after filing Chapter 11

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Monday, April 22, 2013.

NewPage Corp., a company that runs a number of paper mills in Wisconsin, listed profits of more than $1 billion in 2012. What is remarkable about these profits is that in 2011 the business had lost close to a half-billion dollars, and that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 7, 2011.

The company reportedly stated that the profits were largely due to reorganization, and the fact that the company owed less in interest for 2012. And despite net sales dropping 11 percent from 2011 until 2012, it still appears that the company is financially better off after filing for Chapter 11.

Judge has harsh words for parties involved in patent disputes

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Trade Secrets on Monday, April 15, 2013.

We wrote a few months back about the intellectual property disputes involving Apple and Google. A U.S. District Court Judge has now harshly criticized both companies for supposedly using litigation as a business strategy rather than as a means of resolving disputes. "The parties have no interest in efficiently and expeditiously resolving this dispute," the judge was quoted as saying.

A federal judge in Wisconsin just recently dismissed Apple's breach-of-contract case in a dispute over royalties regarding Google's Motorola Mobility device, and Apple is planning on appealing that decision. And Apple and Google are also continually pursuing patent infringement claims against each other that were dismissed by another federal judge.

Closely held business is changing the products that will sell

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Closely Held Businesses on Monday, April 8, 2013.

American TV & Appliances, that operates 11 so-called big-box stores in Wisconsin and across the Midwest, is expanding on the types of products it plans on selling. It plans on discontinuing sales of car audio, digital imaging and PC type products, and instead hopes to market furniture, HDTV and home audio equipment.

The business is planning on dropping particular products from its marketing line because the sale of these products is affected by the sale of smartphones. American TV plans on removing these products from their stores in as little as two months time.

Brewery faces eminent domain issues

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Business Litigation on Monday, April 1, 2013.

A Wisconsin business, Dixie Brewery, is currently involved in an eminent domain dispute with the United States Government. The owners of the brewery are challenging government attempts to take one of their facilities with the purposes of converting it into a hospital for veterans.

Apparently, steps have already begun to convert the historic building located in the southern portion of the United States. However, Dixie Brewery still hopes to halt the ongoing construction before changes become irreversible and the brewery is no longer able to use the structure for business.

Flat Top Grill files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Monday, March 18, 2013.

Flat Top Grill, with franchises in Wauwatosa and Madison, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief. The restaurant chain was originally purchased by investors in 2009, and it at first experienced a spurt of growth.

The number of restaurants owned by Flat Top Grill grew from 14 to 37. However, as money began to dwindle and lines of credits were not as readily available, the number of restaurants remaining open is once again at 14. Flat Top Grill has chosen Chapter 11 bankruptcy likely because it does not want to see the number of restaurants go down to zero.

Patent dispute over food packaging heard in Wisconsin court

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Trade Secrets on Monday, March 11, 2013.

A patent infringement lawsuit has recently been filed in the federal court located in Madison, Wisconsin. The product in question covers a packaging for sliced food products, and the lawsuit was brought by Kraft Foods Group against Land O'Frost Inc., a meat packing company.

Kraft claims to have been "irreparably harmed" by the alleged actions of Land O'Frost. Kraft seeks an award of money damages, attorney fees, litigation costs, and an order prohibiting any further supposed infringement of its product.

Family owned brewery plans to expand

On behalf of Kerkman & Dunn posted in Closely Held Businesses on Monday, March 4, 2013.

Closely held corporations are still viable in our current economy. Schell's Brewing, doing business in seven states including Wisconsin, has been a family owned and operated business since 1860. And though the business has been successful, the company is still looking towards expansion and is in hopes of going into different markets.

The director of sales and marketing for Schell's would like to increase brewing capacity by approximately 100,000 barrels, and they now seeing a market in brewing craft beers. The approach in updating their products is what they hope to accomplish first before moving beyond doing business in the markets they currently have.