Wisconsin Supreme Court backs county in IT dispute

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press Writer

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Racine County can continue to sue a computer contractor that failed to deliver a new human resources and payroll program on time, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday.

In a 7-0 ruling, the court ordered the case back to the circuit court for a trial on whether Oracular Milwaukee breached its contract with the county.

But the court sidestepped the most significant issue in the case: whether computer consultants are considered "professionals" in Wisconsin. An affirmative ruling would have required those suing computer consultants to prove they performed below industry standards, similar to malpractice lawsuits against doctors and lawyers.

An appeals court had ruled that computer consultants were not professionals, but the high court said they did not need to decide that issue in Friday's case.

Racine County hired Oracular in 2004 to upgrade its human resources, payroll and financial software systems. The county terminated its contract and sued the firm in 2006 after it missed deadlines and ultimately failed to deliver what was promised.

Oracular had argued the case should be dismissed because its workers were professionals, and the county failed to produce expert testimony showing they were negligent. A circuit court judge had agreed.

But the high court said expert testimony was not needed for the case to move forward. Justice Annette Ziegler wrote the county's claims were relatively simple: that Oracular failed to meet a 2004 deadline for the program to be running and provided incompetent training for its workers.

Ziegler said the circuit court should decide whether the deadline was merely a target date and whether the county shares any of the blame for the project's outcome as Oracular contends.