Insurance — homeowners insurance — raze orders

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Civil

Insurance — homeowners insurance — raze orders

Even though a house was worth less than $24,000 when the city ordered it razed, the owner is entitled to collect the full $244,000 amount of his homeowners insurance policy.

“As we have seen, under WIS. STAT. § 66.0413(1)(c), property may not be repaired ‘if a … building inspector or designated officer determines that the cost of repairs … would exceed 50% of the assessed value of the building divided by the ratio of the assessed value to the recommended value as last published by the department of revenue for the municipality within which the building is located.’ That is the situation here. Thus, Haynes’s home was ‘wholly destroyed’ within the meaning of WIS. STAT. § 632.05(2). See Gambrell v. Campbellsport Mutual Ins. Co., 47 Wis. 2d 483, 490, 177 N.W.2d 313, 316 (1970) (‘An administrative order of a municipal building inspection department directing the razing of a burned building is a legislatively approved declaration that for public policy reasons the damage to the property constitutes a total loss.’). See also City of Appleton v. Brunschweiler, 52 Wis. 2d 303, 309, 190 N.W.2d 545, 548 (1971) (‘[I]f the repairs to a building are unreasonable as defined in the statute the building must be razed even though it could be made safe by the expenditure of unreasonable cost of repairs.’). Of course, the statutes’ command trumps any contrary analysis or post-hoc assessment by Demski that he sets out in his affidavit. See Milwaukee County v. Schmidt, 52 Wis. 2d 58, 66, 187 N.W.2d 777, 781 (1971) (‘[A]n administrative officer has no discretion to disregard the language of a statute in performing his duties.’). Simply put, the focus is on whether repairs are reasonable under the statutory formula, not whether elements of the structure survived the fire. The unappealed Raze Order, which, as we have seen, applied the mandated statutory formula, is conclusive.”

Affirmed in part, and Reversed in part.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2014AP395 Haynes v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co.

Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Sankovitz, J., fine, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Konz, Michael P., Appleton; Fuehrer, Erik L., Appleton; For Respondent: Cronin, Joshua B., Milwaukee