I am not a big fan of illegal issue ads and the misleading message they often proclaim; I have been fighting them for years. Probably the most outrageous ads have been in the past few Wisconsin Supreme Court races where the charges like "activist judge" and "legislating from the bench" have been leveled on lightning rod cases with no full view of the case in the 30 seconds that they are presented.
So it is with great caution that I drop the "judicial activism" charge I am about to defend. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has handed down a decision that significantly expanded the state's economic loss doctrine - a set of guidelines judges set up saying experienced parties (eg corporations and their lawyers) should be able to hammer out a contract and make it stick without always coming to the court with their disagreement. The recent decision expanded that doctrine to not only include experienced parties involved with a contract but Wisconsin homeowners, as well. Wisconsin now is the only state in the country where you can lie when you sell you house and get away with it.
The court has taken away the rights and protections of future home buyers without any basis in the law. Justice Bradley outlined this well in the following from her dissenting opinion: "Because the majority's application of the economic loss doctrine, which protects sellers who lie about the condition of the home, is neither compelled by the law nor supported by good public policy, I respectfully dissent." In fact, according to the Supreme Court, first-time home buyers are now expected to have as much knowledge and experience in real estate as the biggest law firms in the state. If someone buys a house with a major defect, the court seems to think home buyers should hire a corporate attorney to help understand the liability and argue with the sellers for a few years.
This is a terrible decision for Wisconsin consumers and home buyers, and it is bad for the housing market that already is struggling in Wisconsin.
Funny thing happened on the way to this decision - the majority Justices Patrick Crooks, David Prosser, Pat Roggensack and Annette Ziegler fancied themselves legislators. Clearly a change like this should be made only through legislation. This decision is directly opposite to the standing Wisconsin Consumer Act, which gives consumers rights, protections and the ability to sue for fraud. Granted the Consumer Act does not cover real estate transactions, but perhaps it should.
In Wisconsin, we believe in strong consumer protection. We hold people who lie about the goods and services they sell accountable. We believe in honesty and the decency of human beings and have the expectation that others believe the same.
It is shameful that homeowners can lie about the condition of the property they are about to sell and it is shameful that a law was created in the Wisconsin Supreme Court with this decision. I am certain that the Legislature will look at state statute in the coming session and decide how to create a real law that is fair and just for buyers and sellers.
If I were to write an issue ad against Justices Prosser, Crooks, Roggensack and Ziegler it would go something like this: Sad family standing in raw sewage in their basement, deep booming voice (of course) "Think that you spent you life savings on your dream home? Think again. Your dream has become a nightmare because the previous owners were liars and thanks to the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court you can't do anything about it. Wisconsin is the only state where our justices think they can write laws that will crush the housing market and rob honest buyers. Happy house hunting and don't forget to call Justices Roggensack, Prosser, Ziegler and Crooks to say thanks for nothing."
- Senator Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, represents the 27th Senate District including parts of Dane, Rock, LaFayette and Green counties.
So it is with great caution that I drop the "judicial activism" charge I am about to defend. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has handed down a decision that significantly expanded the state's economic loss doctrine - a set of guidelines judges set up saying experienced parties (eg corporations and their lawyers) should be able to hammer out a contract and make it stick without always coming to the court with their disagreement. The recent decision expanded that doctrine to not only include experienced parties involved with a contract but Wisconsin homeowners, as well. Wisconsin now is the only state in the country where you can lie when you sell you house and get away with it.
The court has taken away the rights and protections of future home buyers without any basis in the law. Justice Bradley outlined this well in the following from her dissenting opinion: "Because the majority's application of the economic loss doctrine, which protects sellers who lie about the condition of the home, is neither compelled by the law nor supported by good public policy, I respectfully dissent." In fact, according to the Supreme Court, first-time home buyers are now expected to have as much knowledge and experience in real estate as the biggest law firms in the state. If someone buys a house with a major defect, the court seems to think home buyers should hire a corporate attorney to help understand the liability and argue with the sellers for a few years.
This is a terrible decision for Wisconsin consumers and home buyers, and it is bad for the housing market that already is struggling in Wisconsin.
Funny thing happened on the way to this decision - the majority Justices Patrick Crooks, David Prosser, Pat Roggensack and Annette Ziegler fancied themselves legislators. Clearly a change like this should be made only through legislation. This decision is directly opposite to the standing Wisconsin Consumer Act, which gives consumers rights, protections and the ability to sue for fraud. Granted the Consumer Act does not cover real estate transactions, but perhaps it should.
In Wisconsin, we believe in strong consumer protection. We hold people who lie about the goods and services they sell accountable. We believe in honesty and the decency of human beings and have the expectation that others believe the same.
It is shameful that homeowners can lie about the condition of the property they are about to sell and it is shameful that a law was created in the Wisconsin Supreme Court with this decision. I am certain that the Legislature will look at state statute in the coming session and decide how to create a real law that is fair and just for buyers and sellers.
If I were to write an issue ad against Justices Prosser, Crooks, Roggensack and Ziegler it would go something like this: Sad family standing in raw sewage in their basement, deep booming voice (of course) "Think that you spent you life savings on your dream home? Think again. Your dream has become a nightmare because the previous owners were liars and thanks to the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court you can't do anything about it. Wisconsin is the only state where our justices think they can write laws that will crush the housing market and rob honest buyers. Happy house hunting and don't forget to call Justices Roggensack, Prosser, Ziegler and Crooks to say thanks for nothing."
- Senator Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, represents the 27th Senate District including parts of Dane, Rock, LaFayette and Green counties.
