Friends of the Black River Forest v. DNR ( 2020 )


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  •     COURT OF APPEALS
    DECISION                                         NOTICE
    DATED AND FILED                     This opinion is subject to further editing. If
    published, the official version will appear in
    the bound volume of the Official Reports.
    September 15, 2020
    A party may file with the Supreme Court a
    Sheila T. Reiff           petition to review an adverse decision by the
    Clerk of Court of Appeals      Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10
    and RULE 809.62.
    Appeal Nos.
    2019AP299                                                  Cir. Ct. Nos. 2018CV178
    2018CV2301
    2019AP534
    STATE OF WISCONSIN                                   IN COURT OF APPEALS
    DISTRICT I
    FRIENDS OF THE BLACK RIVER FOREST AND CLAUDIA BRICKS,
    PETITIONERS-APPELLANTS,
    V.
    WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND NATURAL
    RESOURCES BOARD,
    RESPONDENTS-RESPONDENTS,
    KOHLER COMPANY,
    INTERVENOR-RESPONDENT.
    FRIENDS OF THE BLACK RIVER FOREST AND CLAUDIA BRICKS,
    PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,
    V.
    WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND NATURAL
    RESOURCES BOARD,
    DEFENDANTS-RESPONDENTS,
    KOHLER COMPANY,
    INTERVENOR-RESPONDENT.
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    APPEALS from orders of the circuit court for Sheboygan and Dane
    Counties: EDWARD L. STENGEL and STEPHEN E. EHLKE, Judges. Reversed
    and cause remanded.
    Before Blanchard, Dugan and Donald, JJ.
    Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent
    or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3).
    ¶1       PER CURIAM. Friends of the Black River Forest and Claudia
    Bricks (collectively referred to herein as the Friends) appeal the dismissals of their
    challenges to a land exchange that took place between Kohler Company (Kohler)
    and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (the Department).
    ¶2       On appeal, the Friends argue that the Sheboygan County Circuit
    Court erred in dismissing their WIS. STAT. ch. 227 (2017-18)1 petition for judicial
    review for lack of standing and that the Dane County Circuit Court erred in
    dismissing        their   common law certiorari           complaint     under     WIS. STAT.
    § 802.06(2)(a)10.
    ¶3       We conclude that the Friends have alleged an injury in their
    Amended Petition sufficient to meet the standing requirements of WIS. STAT.
    § 227.52 and WIS. STAT. § 227.53. We, therefore, reverse the decision of the
    Sheboygan County Circuit Court and remand for proceedings consistent with this
    opinion. We also conclude that the Dane County Circuit Court erred when it
    1
    All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2017-18 version unless otherwise
    noted.
    2
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    dismissed the common law certiorari complaint pursuant to WIS. STAT.
    § 802.06(2)(a)10., and, therefore, we reverse that decision of the Dane County
    Circuit Court and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
    BACKGROUND
    ¶4     In 2014, Kohler announced a plan to build a golf course, clubhouse,
    and related facilities on property it owns to the north of Kohler-Andrae State Park
    (the Park). In pursuit of these plans, Kohler approached the Department about a
    land exchange, and in 2017, the Department initiated a master planning procedure
    under WIS. ADMIN. CODE ch. NR 44 (through Sept. 2019) to consider Kohler’s
    request.    The Natural Resources Board (the Board), which supervises the
    Department and is required to approve amendments to the master plans for state
    parks, approved the initiation of this master planning procedure at its June 27-28,
    2017 meeting.
    ¶5     After months of consideration and negotiations with Kohler, the
    Department prepared a recommendation for the Board detailing a proposed land
    exchange in which Kohler would deed to the Department title to 9.5 acres of land
    located to the west of the Park in exchange for title to 4.59 acres of land inside the
    Park boundary, along with an easement over 1.88 acres of Park property. Kohler
    would use the 4.59 acres for a maintenance facility and parking lot for the golf
    course, while it would use the 1.88 acre easement for public access to the golf
    3
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    course.2 The proposed land exchange also required Kohler to install a roundabout
    and other infrastructure at the Park’s entrance.
    ¶6        Pursuant to the master planning procedure that had been started, the
    Department determined that the 4.59 acres was “no longer needed for the State’s
    use for conservation purposes.”               The Board considered the Department’s
    recommendation at its February 28, 2018 meeting and approved the exchange. At
    the time of the exchange, the master planning procedure was underway, but not
    yet complete.
    ¶7        The Friends filed a WIS. STAT. ch. 227 petition seeking judicial
    review of the land exchange in Sheboygan County Circuit Court on April 2, 2018.
    The Petition named the Department and the Board as respondents. Pursuant to a
    stipulation between the parties, the proceedings were stayed. However, Kohler
    moved to intervene, lift the stay, and dismiss the petition.3 In support of its motion
    to dismiss the petition, Kohler argued that the Friends lacked standing, that the
    land exchange was not a “decision” subject to judicial review under ch. 227, and
    that the land exchange was a ministerial act that is unreviewable under ch. 227.
    The Department and the Board filed a brief in support of Kohler’s motion to
    dismiss, arguing that the Friends failed to allege a protected interest and failed to
    allege that any injuries they had were recognized or protected by law. The Friends
    filed an Amended Petition.
    2
    The 4.59 acres and the 1.88 acres of easement that would be conveyed by the
    Department to Kohler consists of areas of heavily wooded land, open sand dune formations, and
    interdunal wetlands. The land conveyed by Kohler to the Department consists of upland
    woodland, cropland, a home, and outbuildings.
    3
    The circuit court granted Kohler’s motion to intervene.
    4
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    ¶8     The Sheboygan County Circuit Court dismissed the Friends’
    Amended Petition on January 11, 2019, for failing to meet the standing
    requirements set out in WIS. STAT. § 227.52 and WIS. STAT. § 227.53. In its
    Memorandum Decision and Order dismissing the Amended Petition, the circuit
    court focused on whether the Friends had standing to seek judicial review of the
    land exchange, and did not address any other arguments raised by the motions to
    dismiss. The circuit court also restricted its standing analysis to the land exchange
    itself and did not consider “future development on the land in question.”
    ¶9     As an alternative proceeding, the Friends filed a complaint on
    August 24, 2018, in Dane County Circuit Court naming the Board as the
    defendant. The action was styled as a common law certiorari action. Kohler again
    moved to intervene and dismiss the action or, in the alternative, to transfer venue
    to Sheboygan County. In its motion to dismiss, Kohler argued that the circuit
    court lacked jurisdiction as a result of the Board’s sovereign immunity, that an
    action under WIS. STAT. ch. 227 was the exclusive manner of challenging the land
    exchange, that dismissal was required under WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. as a
    result of the action pending in Sheboygan County Circuit Court, and that the
    Friends lacked standing. The Board supported Kohler’s motion to dismiss or, in
    the alternative, to transfer venue to the Sheboygan County Circuit Court. In its
    contemporaneous motion to dismiss, the Board argued that a petition for judicial
    review under WIS. STAT. ch. 227 was the exclusive means for challenging the land
    exchange, the Board has sovereign immunity, and that the Friends lacked standing.
    ¶10    The Dane County Circuit Court dismissed the Friends’ common law
    certiorari complaint on January 25, 2019, citing WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. as
    the basis for the dismissal. It declined to address the additional arguments raised
    5
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    by the motions to dismiss, but noted that “Sheboygan County is the proper place
    for this case to proceed.”
    ¶11    The Friends appealed both dismissals.              The two cases were
    consolidated on appeal and venued in the Court of Appeals District I.
    ¶12    We conclude that the Friends have alleged sufficient facts to satisfy
    the standing inquiry. We accordingly reverse and remand the Sheboygan County
    Circuit Court case for further proceedings. Additionally, we conclude that the
    Dane County Circuit Court erred in dismissing the common law certiorari
    complaint pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10., after the Sheboygan County
    Circuit Court case had been dismissed. We, therefore, reverse and remand the
    Dane County Circuit Court case for further proceedings.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    ¶13    “Our review of a motion to dismiss for lack of standing is de novo.”
    Town of Delavan v. City of Delavan, LLL, 
    160 Wis. 2d 403
    , 410, 
    466 N.W.2d 227
     (Ct. App. 1991). We review a motion to dismiss a petition seeking judicial
    review of an agency decision by asking “whether a petition on its face states ‘facts
    sufficient to show that the petitioner named therein is aggrieved and directly
    affected by the decision sought to be reviewed.’”                   Wisconsin’s Envtl.
    Decade, Inc. v. Public Serv. Comm’n of Wis. (WED I), 
    69 Wis. 2d 1
    , 8, 
    230 N.W.2d 243
     (1975) (citation omitted). In our review, we apply the “normal rules”
    relating to the review of a motion to dismiss,
    including but not limited to the rules that the allegations of
    the petition are assumed to be true; that the allegations are
    entitled to a liberal construction in favor of the petitioner;
    and that this court is not concerned with the ability of the
    petitioner to prove the facts alleged at trial.
    6
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    
    Id. at 8-9
    .
    ¶14    “Whether     dismissal     is   warranted    under     [WIS.    STAT.]
    § 802.06(2)(a)10. is left to the circuit court’s discretion. We will not reverse a
    discretionary determination unless the court erroneously exercised its discretion by
    making an error of law or failing to base its decision on the facts of record.”
    Payday Loan Store of Wis. Inc. v. Krueger, 
    2013 WI App 25
    , ¶5, 
    346 Wis. 2d 237
    , 
    828 N.W.2d 587
     (citation omitted).
    DISCUSSION
    I.     The Friends have alleged facts in the Amended
    Petition sufficient to meet the standing requirement
    of WIS. STAT. § 227.52 and WIS. STAT. § 227.53
    ¶15    Standing to seek judicial review of an administrative decision is
    governed by WIS. STAT. § 227.52, which permits judicial review of
    “[a]dministrative decisions which adversely affect the substantial interests of any
    person,” and by WIS. STAT. § 227.53(1), which states, “Any person aggrieved by a
    decision specified in s. 227.52 shall be entitled to judicial review of the decision
    ….” “[B]oth sections essentially require the petitioner to show a direct effect on
    his [or her] legally protected interests.” WED I, 
    69 Wis. 2d at 9
    . The standing
    inquiry under these sections is accordingly two fold. “The first step under the
    Wisconsin rule is to ascertain whether the decision of the agency directly causes
    injury to the interest of the petitioner. The second step is to determine whether the
    interest asserted is recognized by law.” 
    Id. at 10
    .
    ¶16    “[T]he law of standing in Wisconsin should not be construed
    narrowly or restrictively.” 
    Id. at 13
    . Indeed, in the environmental context, “[a]n
    allegation of injury in fact to aesthetic, conservational and recreational interests
    7
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    has been readily accepted as sufficient to confer standing,” and there is “a
    willingness to find that environmental interests are arguably within the zone of
    interest[] protected by virtually any statute related to environmental matters.” 
    Id. at 10-11
    . “The question of whether the injury alleged will result from the agency
    action in fact is a question to be determined on the merits, not on a motion to
    dismiss for lack of standing.” 
    Id. at 14
    .
    ¶17    In its Amended Petition for Judicial Review, the Friends alleged the
    following injuries:
    24.    [The Friends] are aggrieved by the
    Respondents’ decisions to approve the land transaction.
    The Respondents’ decision permanently eliminates [the
    Friends’] opportunity to use land within Kohler[-]Andrae
    State Park currently available to the public for recreation
    and enjoyment, which members of [the Friends] such as
    Ms. Felde and Ms. Bricks have used and enjoyed
    previously, and would continue to use and enjoy but for
    Respondents’ decision.
    25.    The Respondents’ decision will also reduce
    habitat for and populations of plants, birds, and animals
    that are currently enjoyed by [the Friends’] members such
    as Ms. Felde, as well as Ms. Bricks, harming their ability to
    observe wildlife and study nature in and around the park.
    26.    The Respondents’ decision will impact and
    reduce enjoyment of other resources used by [the Friends’]
    members such as Ms. Felde, as well as Ms. Bricks,
    including areas of the park adjacent to the proposed road
    and maintenance facility. Construction of Kohler Co.’s
    facility will harm the aesthetics of these adjacent areas and
    impair [the Friends’] use and enjoyment of the areas for
    recreation and conservation.
    27.   [The Friends] and its members, including
    Ms. Felde and Ms. Bricks, will be affected by increased
    traffic and noise caused in and around the park by the
    Respondents’ decision, as Kohler Co.’s project is
    constructed and operated.
    28.   [The Friends] and its members, including
    Ms. Felde and Ms. Bricks, are also interested in the
    8
    Nos. 2019AP299
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    Respondents following required procedures for state park
    planning that ensure uses in the park are properly classified
    to avoid user conflicts and preserve recreational and scenic
    qualities, and are aggrieved by the Respondents’ decision
    to follow procedures in this case.
    As we interpret them, the injuries alleged by the Friends consist of recreational,
    aesthetic, and conservational injuries caused by the land exchange.4
    ¶18     In addressing whether the injuries pled by the Friends satisfy the
    standing analysis, the Sheboygan County Circuit Court “restrict[ed] its review to
    the land swap agreement between [the Department and the Board] and [Kohler]”
    and considered whether the land exchange by itself, regardless of the future events
    set in motion by the land exchange, would cause injury to the Friends. The circuit
    court said, “[The Friends] confuse the consequences of a transfer of ownership
    [of] property with the injuries they may sustain if the full project proposed by
    Kohler is approved by all governing bodies.” In other words, the circuit court
    found that the Friends alleged injuries failed the standing test because the injuries
    were not caused directly as a result of the land exchange itself and dismissed the
    Amended Petition on that basis.
    4
    The Friends’ alleged injuries apply to Ms. Bricks individually and to members of the
    Friends. The Friends’ associational standing is not being challenged in this appeal and is,
    therefore, not addressed. We assume, without deciding, that the Friends’ satisfy associational
    standing. However, for the sake of completeness and as part of our de novo review of standing,
    we note that an organization meets the required associational standing “if it alleges facts
    sufficient to show that a member of the organization would have had standing to bring the action
    in his own name.” Wisconsin’s Envtl. Decade, Inc. v. Public Serv. Comm’n of Wis. (WED I),
    
    69 Wis. 2d 1
    , 20, 
    230 N.W.2d 243
     (1975). In its Amended Petition, the Friends have alleged
    injuries to its members who live, work, and engage in recreational activities in and around the
    Park and, accordingly, have alleged facts sufficient to meet the requirements of associational
    standing.
    9
    Nos. 2019AP299
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    ¶19    However, as we have previously recognized, “[i]njury alleged,
    which is remote in time or which will only occur as an end result of a sequence of
    events set in motion by the agency action challenged, can be a sufficiently direct
    result of the agency’s decision to serve as a basis for standing.” WED I, 
    69 Wis. 2d at 14
    . We, therefore, must look beyond the land exchange to the sequence
    of events that has been set in motion when analyzing whether the injuries alleged
    by the Friends in their Amended Petition satisfy the standing analysis.
    ¶20    As noted, Kohler negotiated a land exchange with the Department as
    part of its plans to construct a golf course. As such, the land exchange set in
    motion a sequence of events with Kohler’s desired end result being the
    construction of the golf course.       The Amended Petition alleges that the
    Department and the Board contemplated that the land exchange would be a step in
    Kohler’s construction of a golf course. Furthermore, the Board’s agenda from its
    February meeting in which it considered the Department’s recommendation to
    exchange land with Kohler and the Department’s background memorandum were
    attached to the Amended Petition. Both documents contemplate the construction
    of the golf course as the result of the land exchange, and as such, we do not see
    how the land exchange can be divorced from the end result of the construction of
    the golf course.
    ¶21    Kohler argues that the various potential sequence of events that
    could lead to the construction of the proposed golf course results in the alleged
    injuries being too conjectural and too hypothetical to satisfy the standing
    requirement. For this proposition, Kohler relies on Fox v. DHSS, 
    112 Wis. 2d 514
    , 
    334 N.W.2d 542
     (1983). However, unlike the situation in Fox, the injuries
    alleged here do not “strain the imagination.” See 
    id. at 527
    . The petitioners in
    Fox, the Milwaukee County District Attorney and relatives of incarcerated
    10
    Nos. 2019AP299
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    individuals, alleged that prisoners would suffer psychological injuries as a result of
    the decision to construct a new prison in Portage, far away from the prisoners’
    homes in Milwaukee County. 
    Id. at 527, 532
    . This, the petitioners argued, would
    lead to an increase in recidivism and eventually harm the district attorney in his
    official capacity and the incarcerated individuals and their families. 
    Id. at 526-27, 532
    . In response, our supreme court stated that the “presumed psychological
    effects” on inmates “are simply too remote to be considered ‘direct injury’ so as to
    confer standing.” 
    Id. at 527
    . The court further stated that the sequence of events
    leading from the agency decision to the presumed psychological injuries and then
    to the alleged injuries to the petitioners “strain[ed] the imagination.” 
    Id.
     As to the
    injuries alleged by the district attorney, the court stated, “His claimed injuries will
    result only if a sequence of increasingly unlikely events actually occur.” 
    Id. at 529
    . It likewise considered the injuries alleged by the family members as “too
    remote” to meet the direct injury requirement. 
    Id. at 533
    .
    ¶22    We conclude that the injuries alleged by the Friends here are wholly
    unlike those alleged by the petitioners in Fox. Indeed, we fail to see how the
    injuries alleged by the Friends strain the imagination when the land exchange
    decision itself seems to have contemplated that Kohler would construct a golf
    course. We are at the motion to dismiss stage, and “the allegations in the petition
    are assumed to be true” and “the allegations are entitled to liberal construction in
    favor of [the Friends].” See WED I, 
    69 Wis. 2d at 8-9
    . Therefore, we must
    construe the alleged injuries liberally based on the face of the Amended Petition.
    Accordingly, based on the allegations made by the Friends it is not difficult to
    imagine that the Friends will no longer be able to use the remaining parkland for
    recreation without interference from traffic and noise in the area caused by the
    golf course and its patrons. Similarly, it is easy to imagine that interference to
    11
    Nos. 2019AP299
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    habitats could interfere with the Friends ability to use the remaining parkland for
    recreational uses such as birding. Whether these injuries are likely to come to pass
    is a question to be resolved on the merits and not on a motion to dismiss. See 
    id. at 14
    .
    ¶23   Moreover, the construction of the golf course and alleged resulting
    injuries seem even more likely to occur now that the land exchange has taken
    place because, following the land exchange, Kohler admitted that it began the
    process of obtaining permits and other necessary approvals for the construction of
    the golf course. We must, accordingly, consider the sequence of events set in
    motion by the land exchange and not just the land exchange itself.
    ¶24   With the proper scope in mind, we now consider whether the Friends
    have alleged injuries sufficient to meet the first step in the standing inquiry. We
    conclude that the Friends have alleged sufficient facts in its Amended Petition to
    satisfy the first step of the standing analysis.
    ¶25   The Friends have alleged recreational, aesthetic, and conservational
    injuries resulting from the anticipated (1) inability on their part to use the land
    conveyed to Kohler for recreation, (2) destruction of wildlife habitat, (3) impact of
    the golf course on remaining parkland, (4) increased traffic and noise, and
    (5) failure of the Department and the Board to follow the proper procedures when
    considering a conveyance of parkland.
    ¶26   “[T]he    direct   injury   requirement[]   has   two   components.”
    Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club v. DHSS, 
    130 Wis. 2d 56
    , 65, 
    387 N.W.2d 245
     (1986). “First, the injury must not be hypothetical or conjectural.”          
    Id.
    “Second, there must be a close causal relationship between the alleged injury and a
    change in the physical environment.” 
    Id.
    12
    Nos. 2019AP299
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    ¶27     As we addressed above, we do not see the alleged injuries here as
    hypothetical or conjectural given that the land exchange itself contemplates the
    construction of the golf course. It is, therefore, not hypothetical or conjectural that
    the land exchange may cause the Friends to suffer the alleged recreational,
    aesthetic, and conservational injuries as a result of the golf course construction.
    Additionally, there is a close causal relationship between the alleged injuries to a
    change in the physical environment precipitated by the land exchange. While
    there will be other steps between the land exchange and the planned completion of
    the golf course, the land exchange has made those intervening steps possible and
    can be said to have a causal connection to the injuries alleged by the Friends.
    ¶28     Turning to the second step of the inquiry, we further conclude that
    the Friends have alleged injuries recognized by law and, therefore, satisfy the
    second step of the standing inquiry.5
    ¶29     The Friends alleged anticipated recreational, aesthetic, and
    conservational injuries that are environmental in nature, and the laws cited by the
    Friends for protection are themselves environmental in nature. In the Amended
    Petition, the Friends point to WIS. STAT. § 27.01(1), WIS. STAT. § 23.11, WIS.
    STAT. § 23.15, and the accompanying regulations found in WIS. ADMIN. CODE
    5
    The Friends argue that this court should not address the second step of the standing
    analysis because it was not considered by the Sheboygan County Circuit Court. However, we
    review a decision for lack of standing de novo, the parties have briefed the issue, and thus we
    consider it appropriate to reach the second step of the analysis. See Town of Delavan v. City of
    Delavan, LLL, 
    160 Wis. 2d 403
    , 410, 
    466 N.W.2d 227
     (Ct. App. 1991).
    13
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    chs. NR 1 & 44.6           We see the nature of these statutes and accompanying
    regulations as creating an environmental interest in the protection and regulation
    of Wisconsin’s state parks, including the Kohler-Andrae State Park at the heart of
    the dispute here. See Waste Mgmt. of Wis., Inc. v. DNR, 
    144 Wis. 2d 499
    , 508,
    
    424 N.W.2d 685
     (1988).
    ¶30     WISCONSIN STAT. § 27.01(1) states:
    It is declared to be the policy of the legislature to
    acquire, improve, preserve and administer a system of areas
    to be known as the state parks of Wisconsin. The purpose
    of the state parks is to provide areas for public recreation
    and for public education in conservation and nature study.
    An area may qualify as a state park by reason of its
    scenery, its plants and wildlife, or its historical,
    archaeological or geological interest. The department shall
    be responsible for the selection of a balanced system of
    state park areas and for the acquisition, development and
    administration of the state parks.
    WISCONSIN STAT. § 23.11 further states, “[The Department] shall have and take
    the general care, protection and supervision of all state parks ….” Last, WIS.
    STAT. § 23.15(1) says, “The natural resources board may sell, at public or private
    sale, lands and structures owned by the state under the jurisdiction of the
    department of natural resources, … when the natural resources board determines
    that the lands are no longer necessary for the state’s use for conservation purposes
    ….” Accompanying regulations found in WIS. ADMIN. CODE chs. NR 1 and 44
    are also intended to serve as the agency rules in carrying out the statutory duties to
    6
    Kohler argues that the administrative code provisions that the Friends point to cannot
    create a legally protected interest. We disagree. A rule can create legally protectable interests.
    See Chenequa Land Conservancy, Inc. v. Village of Hartland, 
    2004 WI App 144
    , ¶29, 
    275 Wis. 2d 533
    , 
    685 N.W.2d 573
     (rejecting reliance on an agency manual because the manual was
    not a rule with the force of law behind it). As such, we consider whether the administrative code
    provisions cited by the Friends create a protectable interest.
    14
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    do such things as take general care of the state parks and preserve and administer
    the state parks for public recreation and public education.
    ¶31    As noted, the Friends alleged anticipated recreational, aesthetic, and
    conservational injuries that are environmental in nature.        The statutes and
    accompanying regulations mentioned above recognize those injuries under the
    law. The Friends have accordingly alleged an interest recognized by law to meet
    the second step of the standing inquiry.
    ¶32    In sum, we conclude that the allegations in the Friends’ Amended
    Petition are sufficient to satisfy the standing requirements of WIS. STAT. § 227.52
    and WIS. STAT. § 227.53. We, therefore, reverse the decision of the Sheboygan
    County Circuit Court dismissing the Friends’ Amended Petition for lack of
    standing.
    II.    The Friends’ common law certiorari action was
    improperly dismissed on the basis of WIS. STAT.
    § 802.06(2)(a)10
    ¶33    The Friends argue that there was no longer another action pending
    between the parties once the Sheboygan County case was dismissed and,
    therefore, dismissal by the Dane County Circuit Court was no longer appropriate
    under WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. We agree, and we conclude that the Friends’
    common law certiorari action was improperly dismissed for this reason.
    ¶34    A circuit court may dismiss “[a]nother action pending between the
    same parties for the same cause.” WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. As the statute
    states, dismissal for this reason requires that “the moving party must prove the
    existence of: (1) another pending action; (2) between the same parties; (3) for the
    same cause.” Payday Loan Store, 
    346 Wis. 2d 237
    , ¶6.
    15
    Nos. 2019AP299
    2019AP534
    ¶35    As the first element plainly states, there must be another pending
    action for WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. to apply. However, in this case the other
    pending action in Sheboygan County was clearly dismissed at the time the Dane
    County Circuit Court rendered its decision. The Sheboygan County Circuit Court
    dismissed the petition filed by the Friends on January 11, 2019, and the Dane
    County Circuit Court rendered its oral ruling dismissing the Friends’ common law
    certiorari complaint on January 25, 2019. There was, therefore, no other pending
    action to meet the first element for dismissal under WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10.,
    and we conclude that the circuit court erred in dismissing this action under WIS.
    STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. when no other pending action existed at that time.
    Accordingly, we reverse the dismissal of the Friends’ common law certiorari
    complaint.
    CONCLUSION
    ¶36    We conclude that the Friends have alleged sufficient facts in the
    Amended Petition to meet the standing requirements of WIS. STAT. § 227.52 and
    WIS. STAT. § 227.53. We also conclude that it was an erroneous exercise of
    discretion for the Dane County Circuit Court to dismiss the Friends’ common law
    certiorari complaint on the basis of WIS. STAT. § 802.06(2)(a)10. We, therefore,
    reverse the dismissals and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
    By the Court.—Orders reversed and causes remanded.
    This     opinion   will   not    be   published.   See   WIS. STAT.
    RULE 809.23(1)(b)5.
    16
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2019AP000299, 2019AP000534

Filed Date: 9/15/2020

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 9/9/2024