Wisconsin Appeals Court Overturns Ruling Now in State Farm’s Favor

A Wisconsin appeals court says the estate of a police officer killed in a car crash six years ago cannot collect on his insurance policy.

The ruling overturns a judge’s decision awarding Robert Etter’s estate nearly $500,000 from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

The Third District Court of Appeals says a Brown County judge erred in ruling the State Farm liability policy purchased by Etter and his wife provided uninsured motorist coverage.

The 56-year-old Etter and 32-year-old Stephanie Markins were killed in July 2002 at a stop sign in rural Green Bay when Tyson Kreuscher of the Town of Hobart rammed his truck into their squad car.

Kreuscher was convicted of two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and sentenced to life in prison.

Latest Comments

• October 20, 2008 at 12:19 pm

  wudchuck says:

  you forget one thing: state farm will pay if it is a passenger auto policy. remember that it was his squad car (company vehicle), this is not a normal vehicle for the family. ... read more
• October 19, 2008 at 11:06 am

  Dick says:

  Thank you Question and Answer for "the rest of the story". This seems to be the norm for "detailed" reporting by the Journal. We have come to expect that type of summary repor... read more
• October 17, 2008 at 2:28 am

  Answer says:

  I too hate news blurbs that tell you nothing. There was an underlying UM policy in play which paid out coverage after the determination that the at-fault driver was uninsured... read more