When litigation counsel speak of dispositive discovery, they typically mean evidence so compelling that it will drive the merits in their favor. But a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin gives a whole new meaning to the term.

In its February decision, Wisconsin’s highest court unanimously affirmed the trial court’s judgment of liability against the defendant bank as a sanction for discovery violations. That judgment formed the basis of a jury verdict exceeding $800,000, making for quite the discovery sanction against the bank.