High court sticks it to home buyers
In a curious 4-3 decision that was joined by supposed new "traditionalist" Justice Annette Ziegler, the state Supreme Court this week declared that home buyers who were lied to by the sellers can't sue for fraud.
Veteran Justice Anne Walsh Bradley, who was in the minority with Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and outgoing Justice Louis Butler, accused the four in the majority -- Ziegler, Patrick Crooks, David Prosser and Pat Roggensack -- of making law from the bench by expanding the state's economic loss doctrine that bars civil claims for economic losses. It had been applied to commercial real estate sales, but under the court's new ruling, it now applies to residential sales as well.
Bradley pointed out that as a result of the decision, Wisconsin is now the only state in the nation that bars civil fraud cases in real estate transactions.
It allows a home seller "to look the buyer in the eye, lie about the condition of the home, and escape legal consequences," she wrote in a dissent.
The case in question involved a home near Milwaukee where the seller assured the buyers there were no problems with the house. When the buyers moved in, they discovered that the sewer pipe between the house and main pipe was broken. It required several thousands of dollars to repair.
While there admittedly are still other avenues to sue to attempt to recover damages, the prospect of committing fraud is a bigger deterrent.
Even the Wisconsin Realtors Association filed a friend of the court brief in the case, telling the court that to eliminate fraud is "bad for the Wisconsin real estate market and bad for Wisconsin consumers."
But, fasten your seat belts. Rulings like this are going to become the norm once the latest "traditionalist" justice, Michael Gableman, joins the court.
File photo
The state Supreme Court declared that home buyers who were lied to by the sellers can't sue for fraud.
