Public Nuisance – Insufficient Service

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: Gene Ransom, et al. v. Janice M. Basswood

Case No.: 2017AP1054-AC

Officials: Lundsten, P.J., Blanchard and Fitzpatrick, JJ.

Focus: Public Nuisance – Insufficient Service

Six residents of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, (who we will call “the Plaintiffs”) brought suit in the Jackson County Circuit Court against Janice Basswood and her husband, Christopher Sargent. Plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that a house in which Basswood resided was a public nuisance under the Drug House Abatement Law and a private nuisance. The circuit court granted a default judgment against Basswood and Sargent on both the public nuisance and private nuisance claims, and ordered abatement of the nuisance. Basswood and Sargent filed a motion to vacate the default judgment. That motion was denied by the circuit court.

Basswood and Sargent appeal and argue that the default judgment should be vacated because the house was not a public nuisance and service of the summons and complaint was insufficient. We conclude that, pursuant to the Drug House Abatement Law, only municipalities may bring an action to have a house declared a public nuisance and have the public nuisance abated. The Plaintiffs are private citizens and, therefore, could not bring a valid public nuisance claim under the Drug House Abatement Law. As a result, we reverse the circuit court’s denial of the motion to vacate the default judgment on the public nuisance claim and remand to the circuit court for dismissal of the public nuisance claim. We also conclude that there was sufficient service of the summons and complaint on Basswood and, accordingly, affirm the denial of the motion to vacate the default judgment granted against Basswood on the private nuisance claim.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.