Pasko V. City Of Milwaukee

¶1. The City of Milwaukee, City of Milwaukee Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, Milwaukee Employes' Retirement System and Annuity and Pension Board, and City of Milwaukee Police Chief Arthur Jones appeal from a court of appeals' decision that held that the Milwaukee Police Association was not barred from bringing its writ of mandamus action based on claim preclusion despite a similar action previously brought by its union members. The court of appeals concluded that claim preclusion did not apply because there was no privity between the union members in the first action and the union in this case. We agree. However, we disagree with the court of appeals' conclusion that, based on the current record, the Milwaukee Police Association was entitled to a writ of mandamus compelling the promotions of police officers to vacancies within the police department. Instead, we conclude that remand is appropriate on this issue to determine whether the collective bargaining agreement requires such promotions to occur, whether vacancies exist for such promotions, and whether, as the statute requires, such vacancies constitute "newly created offices." Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals' decision and remand for additional proceedings consistent with this opinion.