By: Derek Hawkins//March 10, 2022//
WI Court of Appeals – District IV
Case Name: Eric D. Olmanson, et al., v. Brenda Weits
Case No.: 2021AP438
Officials: BLANCHARD, P.J.
Focus: Eviction – Landlord-tenant Relationship
In this small claims action, Andrea and Eric Olmanson appeal the circuit court’s dismissal of their only claims against Brenda Weits, one for eviction and one for trespass. Regarding the eviction claim, the court granted Weits’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that property-owner Olmanson and property-occupant Weits never had a landlord-tenant relationship and that such a relationship is a necessary precondition to an eviction action pursued under WIS. STAT. § 799.40. Following the agreed premise by both parties that Weits was never a tenant of Olmanson, and applying controlling case law, I conclude that the court correctly determined that Olmanson could not pursue the eviction action. The court did not explicitly address the trespass claim and I conclude that the court improperly dismissed this claim based on the state of the record at the time of dismissal. Accordingly, I affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.