By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//December 4, 2012//
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
Civil
Property — divorce
A divorce court lacks jurisdiction to transfer interests in real property, where the respondent was not personally served in the divorce action and did not appear in any proceedings pertaining to the divorce action.
“Had the legislature intended to remove the requirement of personal jurisdiction for divorce decisions involving property, it could have written the 2001 amendment more expansively. Our reading of the narrow exception the legislature created is consistent with rules of statutory construction. Under the doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius, ‘“the express mention of one matter excludes other similar matters [that are] not mentioned.”’ FAS, LLC v. Town of Bass Lake, 2007 WI 73, ¶27, 301 Wis. 2d 321, 733 N.W.2d 287 (citation omitted; brackets in FAS).”
Affirmed.
Recommended for publication in the official reports.
2012AP102 Montalvo v. U.S. Title & Closing Services, LLC
Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Siefert, J., Kessler, J.
Attorneys: For Appellant: Yeager, Karl J., Minneapolis; Weiss, Debra L., Minneapolis; For Respondent: Steinmetz, William R., Milwaukee