Hi Folks,
Last week we ended our 12 city “Get Out The Vote” tour through rural Wisconsin. In three weeks, we signed up almost 500 volunteers to knock on doors for the next 30 days to get progressive Wisconsinites to the polls.
Because I felt that recruiting GOTV volunteers in our all-important swing state was integral to protecting America's Democracy, I didn’t want to distract attention from those efforts by writing about the intense legal negotiations that were taking place during that same period of time between the Minocqua Brewing Company, Society Insurance/West Bend Mutual, and the Lakeland Times to settle the largest defamation judgement in Wisconsin’s history ($750K).
In short, our insurance companies decided to settle out of court with Gregg Walker for $580K because their legal fees on my behalf were sky high and they didn’t want keep paying to defend me any longer. They required me to chip in $50K, which is a huge amount of money to pay a thin-skinned bully, but it allowed the Minocqua Brewing Company to avoid bankruptcy and put this whole ugly episode behind us.
I’ve estimated that my insurance companies’ legal expenses for this entire 3-year circus was probably over $1M, which means that Gregg Walker, while ultimately winning this lawsuit, probably ended up paying more to his lawyers than he won in the settlement.
‘Twas A Pyrrhic victory to say the least.
Every ounce of my soul told me to keep fighting and take this bully all the way to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court (SCOWIS), but after consulting with many close friends, I decided that agreeing to settle was fiscally prudent given that there was no certainty that SCOWIS would even take this case.
Before discussing why I believe Wisconsin’s progressive-leaning Supreme Court let me down, I want to remind readers why I believe justice was warped in this case by partisan politics from day 1.
As many of you know, Gregg Walker initially sued me in 2021 for calling him a “crook” and a “misogynist,” along with mistakenly writing that he used the word “retarded” to describe Minocqua Chamber of Commerce Director Krystal Westphal instead of the word “idiotic.”
This case ultimately landed in Forest County Judge Leon Stenz’s court after both sides substituted out Oneida County's only two judges (we substituted the more conservative one, they substituted the more liberal one).
Within legal circles, Judge Stenz is largely viewed as one of the most incompetent judges in Wisconsin, and he lived up to this reputation throughout the lawsuit.
Stenz’s ruling that Gregg Walker was not a public figure, which ultimately killed my defense, misinterpreted defamation law. By failing to acknowledge that Walker, as the owner, publisher, editor, and investigative journalist for two newspapers, plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion in northern Wisconsin, Stenz disregarded well-established legal standards. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that individuals in influential positions, like Walker, qualify as public figures, meaning the First Amendment protects the public’s right to criticize them. In defamation cases, public figures must prove "actual malice"—that defamatory statements were made with knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. Stenz’s failure to apply this higher standard improperly lowered the bar, shielding Walker from the level of scrutiny that his role demands.
Stenz’s failure to apply the actual malice standard undermines the First Amendment’s protections. Walker, who holds significant sway over public discourse in the region, should not be insulated from criticism, nor should the public be deterred from speaking out against him or his newspapers. The actual malice standard is crucial for fostering open debate about those in positions of power, but Stenz’s ruling ignored this and allowed Walker to avoid the scrutiny that comes with being a public figure. This decision directly contradicts fundamental First Amendment principles, weakening the ability to hold influential individuals accountable.
The broader consequences of Stenz’s ruling are alarming for democracy. The actual malice standard ensures that public figures can be criticized without the constant threat of lawsuits. By failing to recognize Walker as a public figure, Stenz’s decision risks silencing critical voices and erodes the accountability necessary for a functioning democracy. This misstep not only undermines free speech but also sets a dangerous precedent for how the law treats those in positions of influence.
After the Jury awarded Walker $750K in damages, the exact amount that Walker’s attorney Matt Fernholz picked out of the sky, Judge Stenz should have reduced the verdict. After a full week of testimony, Gregg Walker failed to present any evidence that he was harmed by my statements. Walker did not provide proof that his reputation had been damaged, that his newspaper sales had declined, or that his mental health had suffered as a result. In defamation cases, the plaintiff must demonstrate concrete harm caused by the alleged defamatory statements to recover damages, yet Walker failed to provide such evidence.
Equally important, there was no indication that Walker’s standing in the community or the success of his business suffered any measurable impact. Without any clear evidence of harm, the jury’s verdict was excessive and should have been reduced. Walker’s inability to show any tangible damage raises serious questions about the fairness and proportionality of the judgment.
Judge Stenz’s disregard for First Amendment protections continued when he refused to grant us a stay of the judgment pending appeal. In his ruling, he repeatedly misapplied the legal standard for staying a money judgment. Under Wisconsin law, a defendant seeking a stay from a monetary judgment only needs to demonstrate more than a mere possibility of success on appeal—a relatively low threshold. The law is designed this way because asking a judge to find that the Court of Appeals may overrule one of their decisions is inherently difficult. Despite this low burden, Stenz incorrectly applied a much higher standard, citing outdated case law.
Stenz also ignored a key fact: our insurers had refused to pay the judgment, a whopping $750K, even though their motion for summary judgment had just been denied. This was a critical point that should have influenced his decision, especially since enforcing the judgment would likely lead to the shutdown of the Minocqua Brewing Company, a fact Stenz acknowledged. Yet, he persisted in applying the wrong standard and overlooked this crucial financial reality.
Not only was Stenz’s refusal to grant a stay legally incorrect, but it also seemed as though he relished the severe financial consequences the enforcement of the judgment would impose. His decision to ignore the lack of liquid assets and the looming shutdown of Minocqua Brewing Company suggested a troubling indifference to the real-world impact of his rulings.
When Society Insurance and West Bend Mutual refused to pay this judgement while we appealed the case, I couldn’t believe it. They had hired my defense attorneys in accordance with my insurance policy, and their lawyers did a cursory job of defending me against the defamation claims. Instead, these insurance lawyers rested my entire defense on Walker's inability to provide proof of any tangible monetary damages caused by my statements.
How on earth could it be legal for my insurance company to abandon me after they were the ones who paid for my low-budget defense?
Through the help of many of you who donated to my legal defense fund, I was able to file a “bad faith” claim against Society Insurance and West Bend Mutual to hold their feet to the fire. I also publicly shamed them, after which they hired real appellate attorneys and fired our original lawyers who had whiffed our case so badly.
These new attorneys warned me that even though we would finally be rid of Stenz after filing an appeal in Wisconsin’s 3rd District Court of Appeals, we’d essentially be “out of the frying pan and into the fire,” because that court was comprised of 3 conservative judges who were all appointed by Scott Walker--the most corruptly partisan Republican Governor we've had in generations.
Boy were they right.
Presiding Judge Lisa Stark out of Eau Claire compounded Judge Stenz's error by also refusing to grant our stay. This was frustrating enough on its own, but her decision failed to consider more than half of our arguments. Instead, she focused on only three of the points we raised, which was nothing short of maddening. Given that a defendant's burden to obtain a stay is minimal, and our likelihood of success on appeal was far greater than the "mere possibility" required, the appellate court should have stepped in to prevent further harm. Unfortunately, this Walker appointee on the bench, at best, phoned in her constitutional duties and, at worst, let political considerations influence her ruling.
This decision ultimately forced us to throw ourselves at the mercy of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, where 4 out of the 7 justices were elected by a progressive majority of the state. We filed both a motion to bypass and, more importantly, a motion for an emergency stay of execution of the judgment. Our motion to bypass asked the Supreme Court to take up our case and allow us to skip the partisan 3rd District Court of Appeals entirely. Our motion for the emergency stay would have protected us from the judgment while the appeal was pending. When we requested the stay, we specifically asked the Supreme Court to take it up in an emergency fashion by granting us a preliminary stay while Walker briefed his opposition and then the Court reviewed and ruled on the matter.
Attorney Fernholz, who also happens to be Robin Vos' personal attorney the de-facto attack dog for the Wisconsin Republican Party, had already garnished my bank accounts and had set up a hearing with Judge Stenz on October 7th to put charging orders on the Minocqua Brewing Company. This meant that they could essentially force us to pay Walker the settlement with future beer revenues. I knew that Judge Stenz would grant this motion, and if the Supreme Court didn’t step in before Oct. 7th, I would have to declare bankruptcy in order to protect my company while we waited for our appeal to be heard.
So we waited for the Supreme Court’s response...
The first week went by…nothing.
The second week went by…nothing.
By the third week, which was the end of September, we finally heard that the Wisconsin Supreme Court chose NOT TO ACT on our emergency request. Instead of preliminarily granting the stay, the Court waited for Walker’s response before considering it at all--which was too late for me to avoid filing for bankruptcy.
This outcome was especially disappointing because our case had the potential to set an important legal precedent and bolster First Amendment protections within defamation law. A favorable ruling would have safeguarded the rights of all Wisconsinites to freely criticize public figures without the fear of frivolous lawsuits, preserving free speech and ensuring that those in positions of power remain accountable to the public.
While we were waiting to hear from Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, West Bend Mutual and Society Insurance offered a settlement in which they would pay Walker $530K and I would pay $50K--giving him 77% of the initial judgement.
With no more time to spare and in between our “Get Out The Vote” tour stops in Stevens Point and Wausau, I agreed to pay $50K in a settlement, knowing that I’d have to pay the same amount in legal fees to file for bankruptcy because SCOWIS inexplicably chose to leave me twisting in the wind.
I’ll never know if SCOWIS simply didn’t understand that their delay would force me to declare bankruptcy or if they were willing to let me go bankrupt in an attempt to appear nonpartisan by allowing a 3-week plaintiff response to our emergency motion. Regardless, their delay amounted to the old adage—"justice delayed is justice denied.”
Similar to the voucher school lawsuit that we filed as an “original action” to SCOWIS that should have been a slam dunk given the irrefutable evidence that two unequal systems of education are illegal under the Wisconsin constitution, this last experience with Wisconsin’s progressive Supreme Court left me wondering if they care more about appearing nonpartisan than they care about the law—and that saddens me.
All this is to say that my legal problems over the last three years have shaken, TO THE CORE, my belief in the fairness of Wisconsin’s judicial system. I’ve come to the same conclusion than many who get divorced or spend any amount of time in the legal system come to. Once you’re in it, you won’t win even if you prevail legally. The system eats you up and spits you out, and the only winners are the lawyers who get paid regardless of the outcome.
What has been re-enforced to me, however, is that when the going gets tough politically or legally for the Minocqua Brewing Company, I can only depend on my inner circle, my staff, the Minocqua Brewing Company's many vendors, and our extended progressive family that includes those of you on this mailing list and our large social media following.
Collectively, we’ve been able to do amazing things to help keep Wisconsin blue IN SPITE of constant Republican retaliation and a small but persistent lack of courage among Wisconsin progressives in key positions of power.
That being said, my creative team and I licked our wounds as best we could this week, and did what we do best. We devised a holiday beer that pokes fun at Gregg Walker’s extremely thin skin that we plan to deliver before Thanksgiving and make back some of that $50K we were forced to pay him.
It’s called “Snowflake,” and it's is available today for presale in 44 states.
If you want to help us dust ourselves off and get back up again, consider pre-ordering this beer today, or subscribing to one of our 3 different subscription plans—The Democrat, The Liberal, or The Progressive.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with the Minocqua Brewing Company.
Together, through humor and resilience, let’s continue to Make Wisconsin Great Again, One Beer at a Time.
Kirk Bangstad,
Owner, Minocqua Brewing Company
Founder, Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC