KW Economics prepares rebuttal analysis for commercial contract dispute cases venued in Wisconsin: what the loss claim consists of, the records that drive it, and a present value built to Wisconsin damages rules and venues. Plaintiff and defense.
A lost profits report is tested on causation, incremental cost treatment, the period of loss, and the discount rate. The economist checks whether the but-for revenue rests on pre-dispute projections and the company's history or on assumptions made for the claim, whether the costs deducted are the incremental costs of earning that revenue or a fraction of fixed costs, whether the loss period is bounded by the contract and the market, whether mitigation was credited, and whether the discount rate reflects the risk of the earnings stream. Each correction is quantified so counsel can see which assumptions carry the number.
Critique of an opposing economic damages, valuation, or forensic accounting report for plaintiff or defense counsel. The review tests the assumptions, data sources, discount rates, worklife and life expectancy inputs, growth rates, mitigation treatment, and arithmetic behind the opposing number, identifies the errors that matter, and quantifies how the conclusion changes when they are corrected. The result supports cross-examination, a rebuttal report, or a motion directed at the reliability of the opinion.
The size of the claim depends on the contract's remaining term, the profit margin the business would have realized, and how much of the lost volume was or could have been replaced. Incremental cost treatment is the usual battleground: whether a given cost would have been avoided when the revenue disappeared changes the margin and therefore the loss. For a new venture or a contract without a performance history, the reasonableness of the projected revenue is the central dispute, and the period over which lost profits are claimed is scrutinized against the contract's terms and the market.
Wisconsin courts screen expert testimony for reliability: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each rate and table traced to a published source.
Highest court: Wisconsin Supreme Court. Court system: wicourts.gov.
Federal venues: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the defendant's. Interest on a liquidated contract sum runs from the date it was due, while interest on a tort verdict that beats a rejected statutory offer of settlement runs from the date of the offer. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, so the report states each loss as of a fixed date and separates the sums that were due from the amounts that had to be projected.
We issue a rebuttal report where one is disclosed and provide deposition and trial testimony, cross-examination outlines, and support for motions directed at the opinion.
A lost profits report is tested on causation, incremental cost treatment, the period of loss, and the discount rate. The economist checks whether the but-for revenue rests on pre-dispute projections and the company's history or on assumptions made for the claim, whether the costs deducted are the incremental costs of earning that revenue or a fraction of fixed costs, whether the loss period is bounded by the contract and the market, whether mitigation was credited, and whether the discount rate reflects the risk of the earnings stream. Each correction is quantified so counsel can see which assumptions carry the number.
Wisconsin courts screen expert testimony for reliability: the judge asks whether the economist is qualified, whether the opinion rests on sufficient facts and reliable principles and methods, and whether those methods were reliably applied to the case. An economic damages report is written to that inquiry, with each rate and table traced to a published source. Commercial Contract Dispute cases venued in Wisconsin are heard in the Circuit Court (General jurisdiction; one in each of 72 counties; all civil, criminal, family, and probate matters), with final appeals to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Matters within federal jurisdiction proceed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin and Western District of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin reduces a negligence-based award by the plaintiff's share of fault and bars recovery once that share exceeds the defendant's. Interest on a liquidated contract sum runs from the date it was due, while interest on a tort verdict that beats a rejected statutory offer of settlement runs from the date of the offer. Economic damages are not subject to a general statutory limit outside specific statutory claims, so the report states each loss as of a fixed date and separates the sums that were due from the amounts that had to be projected. The report presents past and future amounts separately, states every rate and table with its source, and shows the result under the alternatives the other side is likely to argue, so counsel can apply the Wisconsin rules to a documented figure.
Request a consultation on Rebuttal or call (201) 343-0700. Plaintiff and defense counsel.