Fox Investments LLC v. City of Kaukauna (Wisconsin Direct-Action Contamination Cost-Recovery Suit)
Fox Investments LLC filed a complaint on July 23, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against the City of Kaukauna and the city's historic liability insurers -- Sentry, The Travelers Indemnity Company, and Employers Insurance Company of Wausau -- seeking to recover $235,683.63 in costs it incurred investigating and remediating heavy-metal and PAH contamination discovered on its property in 2018. Fox invoked Wisconsin's direct-action statute, which allows a plaintiff to sue a defendant's insurer directly, after the Department of Natural Resources named Fox a responsible party in 2019 and closed the site in May 2022 once Fox completed the DNR-directed cleanup.
Why it matters
Suing a prior owner's or responsible party's historic insurers directly, rather than first obtaining a judgment against the underlying defendant, lets a current commercial owner pursue environmental cost recovery without waiting on a municipality's own ability or willingness to pay. The case is a useful template for other owners who inherit legacy contamination tied to a municipal predecessor or government actor whose own insurance history may be the most realistic source of recovery.
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