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Declaratory Judgment – Tolling – Statute of Limitations

By: Derek Hawkins//August 15, 2018//

Declaratory Judgment – Tolling – Statute of Limitations

By: Derek Hawkins//August 15, 2018//

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: Richard A. Mueller, et al. v. TL90108, LLC

Case No.: 2017AP1962

Officials: Brennan, Brash and Dugan, JJ.

Focus: Declaratory Judgment – Tolling – Statute of Limitations

Plaintiffs Richard A. Mueller and Joseph L. Ford, III, appeal an order granting TL90108, LLC’s (TL) motion to dismiss their complaint, filed in 2017, seeking replevin and declaratory judgment. Plaintiffs sought to recover possession of a 1938 Talbot Lago, a vintage car worth more than seven million dollars. The car and related documents including the title had been reported stolen on March 4, 2001, when the owner discovered that they were missing from his Milwaukee garage. Milwaukee police investigated and discovered fraudulent documents that had been used to ship the car to Europe. Fifteen years later, TL applied for title to the car in Illinois after purchasing the car through international auto brokers, and the application triggered a hit in the stolen car database. Before plaintiffs filed this action, they had made an unsuccessful demand on TL for the return of the vehicle.

The trial court held that under WIS. STAT. § 893.35 (2015-16), which states that the cause of action accrues “at the time the wrongful taking or conversion occurs, or the wrongful detention begins[,]” the cause of action accrued when the car was converted by the unknown thief in 2001, and the six year time limitation began to run “at the time of the wrongful taking or conversion, which was when the car was stolen.” The trial court held that because this action was not commenced within that time limit, it is barred under § 893.35.

We hold that this cause of action accrued at the time of the wrongful detention, not wrongful taking or conversion, when TL declined to return the car when plaintiffs demanded it. Because the action was commenced within six years of the time the cause of action accrued, it is not time-barred. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with our decision. Because we decide this case on statutory grounds, we do not address the parties’ alternative arguments on equitable estoppel and public policy concerns.

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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.

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