Archive for July, 2009

Update On Who May Represent A LLC in Eviction Court: New Rules To Start September 1st

Jul 30

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Evictions, LLC's | 2 Comments

Those of you that have been following my blog are aware that Milwaukee County Small Claims Court has indicated that it will not allow non-attorneys to represent LLC’s in court in the near future.

My earlier posts on this topic can be read here and here.

A fellow board member from the AASEW informed me today that one of the owner’s of a property he manages was handed the notice that I reproduced in my earlier post (you can read it here here), as he was leaving small claims court.  The notice indicated that he would no longer be allowed to represent his LLC’s in small claims court as of September 1, 2009.

He indicated to the commisioner that handed him the notice that he was a full-time employee of the LLC and therefore can appear on behalf of the LLC in small claims court as allowed under Sec. 799.06(2) of the Wisconsin Statutes.  The court commissioner’s reply was something to the effect that, ” I see you down here [small claims court] a lot, and you have many LLC’s.  There is no way that you can be a full-time employee of all of them or you would have to work hundreds of hours per week.”

This issue seems to coming to a head very soon.  Unless you are a full-time employee of an LLC, and you have written records to prove this, it looks as if September 1, 2009, will be the deadline by which you will need to have made arrangements to have an attorney represent your LLC’s in Milwaukee County Small Claims Court or risk having your case either adjourned or dismissed.

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Milwaukee’s Chronic Nuisance Ordinance and It’s Improper Use Against Landlords

Jul 29

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, City of Milwaukee, Evictions, Nuisance Properties | 4 Comments

 
The City of Milwaukee’s Chronic Nuisance Ordinance (80-10) is a thorn in the side of many landlords.  Essentially the ordinance says that if your property generates more than 3 calls for police service for “nuisance activities” within a 30 day period  that the city will charge you  for the costs associated with abating the alleged nuisance. 
 
Nuisance activities include the following: harassment, disorderly conduct, battery, indecent exposure, prostitution, littering, theft, possession, manufacture or delivery of drugs, gambling, illegal possession of firearms, keeping a dangerous animal, trespass to land, conspiracy to commit a crime, discharge of a firearm, excessive noise, loitering, public drinking, sale of liquor, possession of counterfeit items, possession or selling of drug paraphenalia, selling or giving tobacco products to children, misuse of emergency telephone numbers, harboring an animal that causes a disturbance, illegal use or sale of fireworks, and truancy.  In summary, a nuisance activity is pretty much anything and everything you can think of. Read the rest of this entry »

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State’s Budget Bill Amends Tenant Protection Act

Jul 22

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Evictions, Foreclosures, Legislation | No Comments

On June 29, 2009 Governor Jim Doyle signed the 2009-11 state biennial budget bill into law.  This law in part made modifications to the Tenant Protection Act (starts on page 108) which offers tenants certain protections during the foreclosure process.  My earlier post on the Tenant Protection Act can be read here. Read the rest of this entry »

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Milwaukee County to Post Notice on Who Can File and Appear in Court on Eviction Actions

Jul 21

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Evictions, LLC's | 3 Comments

A friend of mine who is an employee at the courthouse and does much work in small claims court, and more specifically eviction court, forwarded to my attention earlier today a copy of a notice that will soon be posted in Room 400 (Eviction Court) and Room 104 (Clerk of Courts) of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The notice addresses the issues of who may sign an eviction summons and complaint and who may appear in court on an eviction lawsuit.

The notice that will be posted reads as follows:

_____________________

PLEASE NOTE

 In Small Claims Eviction cases, you may only sign complaints and appear in court on behalf of a property owner if you are one of the following:

  • The property owner (if the property is not owned by a corporation/limited liability corporation)
  • A full time employee of the property owner
  • An attorney

Employees of management companies or other outside service providers may not sign complaints or appear on behalf of property owners 

__________________

If this notice is going to be posted then it appears as if the clerks, court commissioners and judges will be dismissing eviction lawsuits that violate the above notice.

To read my earlier posts on these topics just click here and here.

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AASEW’s Response to Rep. Schneider’s CCAP Legislation Can Be Found at www.DefeatAB340.org

Jul 20

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in AASEW, CCAP, Rep. Marlin Schneider, Screening Tenants | 5 Comments

For those of you that have been following my blog, you are well aware that State Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) has introduced yet another bill attempting to restrict the public’s access to CCAP.  This new bill also will remove certain information from even being included on CCAP.  My prior blogs on this topic can be read here, here and here. Read the rest of this entry »

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FAIR HOUSING – PART 2: Interesting Statistics from HUD’s 2008 Annual Report

Jul 10

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Fair Housing / Discrimination, Protected Classes | 3 Comments

I was recently reviewing the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on Fair Housing.  Not exactly beach reading but then the weather here in Milwaukee isn’t exactly conducive to going to the beach.

HUD and its various Fair Housing Assistance Programs (FHAP) agencies handle all complaints regarding discrimination related to the federal protected classes.  To see a list if the 7 federal protected classes please refer to my earlier post here.  The report contained some very interesting statistics.  You can review the entire Annual Report here. (Be patient as it is a large document and takes awhile to download) Read the rest of this entry »

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FAIR HOUSING – PART 1: What Are The Protected Classes?

Jul 10

Posted by Tristan R. Pettit, Esq. in Fair Housing / Discrimination, Protected Classes, Screening Tenants | 2 Comments

A large part of my law practice is meeting with and consulting with landlords and management companies with regard to how to avoid trouble. This would include assisting them with the drafting of rental documents and guiding them on the proper notice to use when terminating a tenancy. It also includes consulting with clients with regard to fair housing / discrimination issues.

I enjoy this consulting work as it typically occurs before the landlord is embroiled in a dispute or litigation – thus my client tends to be in a better mood at the consulting stage which puts me in a better mood also. Read the rest of this entry »

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