Kelly v. Brown, 879 N.W.2d 127

Elizabeth Carpenter granted her daughter Lois Noone a power of attorney; Noone acted as attorney‑in‑fact.
Several of Elizabeth’s other children petitioned the circuit court under Wis. Stat. §§ 244.16 and 155.60 to review Noone’s conduct as agent.
Attorney John M. Kelly defended Noone and billed over $25,000; payments were made by Elizabeth’s husband Harold and by the Carpenters’ trust (U.S. Bank as trustee), not by Noone personally.
Elizabeth died while the guardian ad litem was investigating; the circuit court concluded the underlying review was moot but nevertheless held hearings and limited Kelly’s fees to $6,000 (30 hours × $200/hr), criticizing excessive litigation.
Kelly appealed, arguing § 244.16(1) does not authorize the court to limit attorney fees absent a finding that the agent violated duties under chapter 244; the court of appeals reversed the fee limitation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Wis. Stat. § 244.16(1) authorizes the circuit court to limit or apportion an attorney’s fees charged in defending an agent when the court made no finding of agent misconduct	§ 244.16(1) allows broad “appropriate relief,” which includes reviewing reasonableness of fees paid from the principal’s assets	§ 244.16(1) does not authorize fee reduction absent a finding that the agent breached duties; remedies for fee recovery are tied to agent liability under § 244.17	Reversed: § 244.16(1) does not permit the court to circumscribe attorney fees here because no finding of agent misconduct was made and the action was moot

Phelps v. Physicians Ins. Co. of Wis., 319 Wis. 2d 1 (2009) (standard of independent review for statutory interpretation)
State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane Cty., 271 Wis. 2d 633 (2004) (interpretation of statutes begins with plain meaning)