JUNEAU COUNTY (WLUK) — Some pre-trial discovery will be allowed to continue in a federal lawsuit filed by the family of six people killed in a fire at a rental property in Necedah, a judge ruled Thursday.
A trial date of March 22, 2027, was also set Thursday.
Six people were killed in the fire in Necedah on June 30, 2024. They were part of an extended family of 20 people staying there for a reunion. Survivors Stephen Kuehl and Mary Witte filed suit earlier this year against the property owners and Airbnb, alleging the cabin was not properly licensed and didn’t have smoke detectors.
Airbnb asked for the case and discovery — the exchange of evidence and documents, deposition interviews and so on — to be placed on hold. It contends the case should be handled by arbitration instead of in federal court. That motion has not been decided yet. Several of the plaintiffs were party to the rental contract and Airbnb, but not all were, which is a complicating factor.
Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor ruled that allowing written discovery will continue, but depositions of Airbnb will put on hold. She said that allows the case to proceed and the work would not be duplicative if the case does eventually move to arbitration.
