Sharon R. Waranka v. Wadena Insurance Company, 847 N.W.2d 324

Decedent Nicholas Waranka (Wisconsin resident) died in a Michigan snowmobile crash; plaintiff Sharon Waranka sued in Wisconsin on behalf of the estate and as surviving spouse.
Defendants included Wisconsin-resident riders and insurers; some policies were issued and the snowmobiles garaged in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin wrongful-death statute, Wis. Stat. § 895.03, creates a cause of action only for deaths caused in Wisconsin; Wis. Stat. § 895.04 limits non-economic damages in wrongful-death actions ($350,000 for adults).
Waranka argued Michigan wrongful-death law (Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.2922) governed damages because Wisconsin’s § 895.03 does not apply to out-of-state deaths.
State Farm argued § 895.04 could be applied independently to cap damages under Wisconsin law, and urged a conflicts-of-law analysis favoring Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held § 895.04 cannot be applied apart from § 895.03, and because § 895.03 does not reach out-of-state deaths Michigan law governed damages; affirmed court of appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Wis. Stat. § 895.04 (damages cap) can apply independently of Wis. Stat. § 895.03 (wrongful-death cause of action)	§ 895.04 cannot be applied separate from § 895.03; Wisconsin wrongful-death law does not apply to out-of-state deaths, so Michigan law controls damages	§ 895.04 is a standalone statute limiting damages and may apply even if § 895.03 (cause of action) does not	§ 895.04 must be read in pari materia with § 895.03 and cannot be applied separately; because § 895.03 does not cover out-of-state deaths, § 895.04 does not apply here
Whether a conflict-of-laws analysis is required, and if so whether Wisconsin law should govern damages	No conflict exists because Wisconsin’s wrongful-death statutes do not apply to out-of-state deaths; Michigan law is the only applicable wrongful-death law	A conflict exists (Wisconsin’s damages cap vs Michigan’s uncapped damages); Wisconsin’s contacts justify applying Wisconsin law	No conflict-of-laws analysis was necessary; Michigan’s wrongful-death statute applies in full because Wisconsin’s wrongful-death statute is inapplicable to deaths occurring in Michigan

Hughes v. Fetter, 341 U.S. 609 (1951) (Full Faith and Credit requires recognition of another state’s wrongful-death cause of action)
Delvaux v. Vanden Langenberg, 130 Wis. 2d 464 (1986) (Wis. Stat. §§ 895.03 and 895.04 must be read together; liability is threshold to damages)
Wangen v. Ford Motor Co., 97 Wis. 2d 260 (1980) (damages recoverable in wrongful-death actions are governed by §§ 895.03 and 895.04)
State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court, 271 Wis. 2d 633 (2004) (statutory interpretation begins with statutory text and context)
Bartholomew v. Wisconsin Patients Comp. Fund, 293 Wis. 2d 38 (2006) (wrongful-death claim is statutory and derived from §§ 895.03 and 895.04)
Shaver v. Soo Line R.R. Co., 284 F. Supp. 701 (E.D. Wis. 1968) (where Wisconsin wrongful-death statute does not apply to out-of-state death, the other state’s statute governs)