WISCONSIN ARTIST BATTLES UTILITY IN LANDMARK PROPERTY RIGHTS CASE

Case Name: Uttech v. American Transmission Company

Type of Case: Limited Government Project

Court: Pre-litigation demand

Case Number:

Filed On: October 16, 2025

Current Status: WILL issued a letter to ATC on October 16, 2025.

WILL issued a warning to the American Transmission Company (ATC) regarding its proposal to construct a transmission line across property owned by Tom and Mary Uttech in Saukville, Wisconsin. The project would serve a new AI data center in Port Washington and would damage the Uttechs’ scenic landscape, protected by a conservation easement and central to Mr. Uttech’s artistic practice as a nationally recognized landscape painter.

Meet the Clients

Tom and Mary Uttech own a 52-acre property that serves as both residence and artistic studio. Mr. Uttech’s work appears in permanent collections at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Museum of Wisconsin Art, and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The family has spent decades planting and maintaining hundreds of trees and plants on their land.

WILL’s Argument

WILL contends that utility companies misapply eminent domain authority. Both the Fifth Amendment and the Wisconsin Constitution prohibit taking private property for public use without just compensation. The proposed transmission line primarily benefits a private data center rather than serving genuine public use, and alternatives exist, including different routes and on-site power generation for the facility.

Why This Case Matters

As AI data centers expand, demand for grid capacity increases. Other jurisdictions, such as Memphis, require on-site power generation, while Wisconsin regulations discourage that approach. New Hampshire recently passed legislation promoting off-grid power generation to limit unnecessary exercises of eminent domain.

Lawyers

Lucas Vebber, Deputy Counsel

CASE DOCUMENTS

• Letter to ATC, October 2025