Appeals briefs filed in Seventh Circuit in Legend Lake v. Menominee County

Appellate briefs in Legend Lake Property Owners Association, Inc. v. Menominee County are on file in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit as case no. 25-3268, and the legal blog Turtle Talk posted links to the parties’ Opening and Answer briefs and the lower-court record on March 4, 2026. Law360 lists the appeal as filed December 17, 2025 and carried the headline “7th Circ. Urged To Nix Wisconsin Homeowners' Tax Appeal,” with Nature of Suit recorded as 3440 Other Civil Rights.

The dispute appears across multiple court dockets. Acefiling excerpts show a Wisconsin Court of Appeals brief filed October 12, 2022 in case 2022AP000937 that frames the central question as whether restrictive covenants recorded on properties are valid and enforceable. That state-court brief states that cases involving takings of tribal property are distinguishable and argues the Association seeks a declaration that the covenants, not tribal land title, are at issue: “in the form of timber and wood products, is not the same as the claim the Association brings against Mr. Keshena and the Tribe, which asks Case 2022AP000937 Brief of Appellant Filed 10-12-2022 Page 31 of 59 32 the circuit court to declare that the Restrictive Covenants recorded on the Properties are valid and enforceable.”

Federal docket activity in 2025 shows vigorous motion practice. PacerMonitor entries list a plaintiffs’ opposition brief and a declaration filed February 21, 2025 by attorney Erik S. Olsen that attached the Association’s 1998 Restated Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws. A stipulation to extend briefing deadlines was filed June 23, 2025, and Judge William C. Griesbach signed a text order on June 24, 2025 stating, “Plaintiffs' briefs in response to Defendants' motions to dismiss are due on or before July 3, 2025. Defendants' reply briefs are due in accordance with Civil L.R. 7(c).” Plaintiffs filed a consolidated opposition late on July 3, 2025 at 11:43 PM, and replies from Menominee County and the Town of Menominee and from the Menominee Indian School District were filed July 17, 2025 by attorneys Kevin Landgraf and Anthony Steffek respectively.

The Acefiling state brief presses sovereignty and jurisdictional points that echo through the record. It argues sovereign immunity is not implicated in in rem proceedings and quotes Larson to say the relief sought “‘will not require action by the sovereign or disturb the sovereign’s property.’” The brief also quotes a circuit-court record line on reservation borders: “So as per McGirt, the Court has no proper role in the adjustment of reservation borders.” The state brief identifies an individual, Mr. Keshena, as having taken title to the subject properties and insists that “the relief sought has nothing to do with the Tribe and everything to do with Mr. Keshena, or more appropriately, the Properties themselves.”

What remains publicly available at this stage are the Seventh Circuit filings linked by Turtle Talk and the underlying state and federal briefs and exhibits preserved in the PACER record, including the Association’s organizational documents filed as exhibits in document 16. The Seventh Circuit docket for case no. 25-3268 will determine whether those state-court and district-court claims are resolved on appeal; as of the Turtle Talk post on March 4, 2026 the briefs are on file but no appellate decision has been posted.