Joseph S. Diedrich

Federal Appellate Experience

• Briefed, orally argued, and won appeal in Louis DeGidio Inc. v. Industrial Combustion, LLC, 66 F.4th 707 (8th Cir. 2023), on behalf of manufacturer of institutional boilers and burners in commercial dispute with former distributor. The Court affirmed summary judgment, cementing a complete defense victory on claims for violation of the Minnesota Franchise Act, breach of contract, and promissory estoppel.
• Won appeal in Stockbridge Munsee Community v. Ho-Chunk Nation, 922 F.3d 818 (7th Cir. 2019), a case brought by one American Indian tribe against another over the latter's right to conduct gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Affirming the district court's ruling in favor of the Ho-Chunk Nation, the Court held that the plaintiff-tribe's claim was both outside the statutory zone of interests and barred by the statute of limitations.
• Authored successful amicus brief in Guam v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1608 (2021), a case providing important guidance on the interpretation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, or Superfund). Filed on behalf of a politically and geographically diverse coalition of 26 states and territories in support of the prevailing party (Guam), the brief was discussed in detail at oral argument.
• Authored successful amicus brief in Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), which held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. The brief was filed in support of the prevailing employees and stressed many of the textual, logical, and institutional arguments the Court ultimately found persuasive.
• Authored several other amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, including at the merits stage, at the petition stage, and in support of emergency applications.
• Presented oral argument in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth and Federal Circuits—including an en banc oral argument in the Seventh Circuit.
• Filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court on behalf of a Wisconsin mother after a county child welfare agency took away one of her children and, as the mother maintains, violated her constitutional rights in the process.

State Appellate Experience

• Won appeal in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in CityDeck Landing v. Circuit Court, 2019 WI 15, on behalf of a real estate developer in a case announcing important limits on a trial court's authority to interfere with private arbitration proceedings.
• Won appeal in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in Enbridge Energy Co. v. Dane County, 2019 WI 78, which held that a local government exceeded the scope of its land-use authority when it imposed unlawful conditions on an energy pipeline company's permit.
• Won appeal in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in Savich v. Columbia County Board of Adjustment, 2024 WI App 43, securing broad preemption ruling and permits for client Tillman Infrastructure to construct new telecommunications infrastructure.
• Won appeal in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in Red Rock Granite, Inc. v. Kafka Properties, LLC, 2019AP1633, in which Court held that our client's mineral fabrication facility was a permissible use of property under a restrictive covenant.
• Won appeal in the Illinois Appellate Court in Prairie Surgicare v. Encompass Specialty Network, 2021 IL App (3d) 200176-U, which affirmed the trial court's discretionary denial of sanctions.
• Authored successful amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Georgia in Raffensperger v. Jackson, 888 S.E.2d 483 (Ga. 2023), in which the Court declared a restrictive occupational licensing law unconstitutional as an unreasonable infringement on an individual's due process right to pursue a lawful profession.
• Authored amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in Michels v. Lyons, 2019 WI 57, a case implicating individual liberty interests under the Fourteenth Amendment. The brief was discussed at oral argument and cited in an opinion.
• Authored multiple successful petitions for review to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin.
• Presented oral argument in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Administrative Appeal & Trial Experience

• Won trial in Campbell v. Kallas, 2020 WL 7230235 (W.D. Wis. 2020), a civil rights lawsuit involving constitutional questions under the Eighth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause. Our client, a transgender inmate with diagnosed gender dysphoria, was awarded an injunction against state officials, requiring them to provide medically necessary gender confirmation surgery.
• Won favorable judgment and vacatur of government action in CSC Sugar LLC v. United States, 317 F. Supp. 3d 1334 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2019), on behalf of sugar refiner in a case challenging the Department of Commerce's approval of countervailing and antidumping duty trade agreements.
• Won favorable judgment and injunctive relief for telecommunications carrier in suit against city government for violations of the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 related to city's denial of permits to install small-cell wireless facilities in public plaza.
• Won summary judgment for a telecommunications developer in a land-use dispute with a local government, allowing the developer to move forward with two telecommunications tower construction projects, each valued at over one million dollars.
• Won summary judgment and attorneys' fees for a professional organization in a copyright infringement suit that hinged on whether the organization's volunteers were agents under the "work made for hire" doctrine.
• Obtained favorable settlement for grocery store chain in class action involving greenwashing claims.
• Obtained zoning approval for Greywolf Partners to add a nursing school to Honey Creek Corporate Center in Milwaukee, requiring a zoning change opposed by various municipal policymakers.