Ahrens v. Town of Fulton

2000 WI App 268, 621 N.W.2d 643, 240 Wis. 2d 124, 2000 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1110
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedNovember 16, 2000
Docket(97 CV 438J), (96 CV 303J), (98 CV 422), 99-2466
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2000 WI App 268 (Ahrens v. Town of Fulton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ahrens v. Town of Fulton, 2000 WI App 268, 621 N.W.2d 643, 240 Wis. 2d 124, 2000 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1110 (Wis. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

DEININGER, J.

¶ 1. Richard Ahrens, and numerous other owners of mobile homes located on individually owned lots in a Rock County subdivision, appeal a judgment dismissing their action to recover allegedly unlawful property taxes levied by Fulton Township. The trial court granted the Town's summary judgment motion after concluding that, even if the mobile homes in question were improperly classified as real property, they would have been subject to personal property taxes in the same amount as the real property taxes levied by the Town. We conclude that most of the mobile homes at issue were properly classified as real property, and that at least one that was improperly classified did not qualify for exemption from personal property taxes. We thus affirm the judgment dismissing the claims of the owners of these mobile homes. However, because we interpret the requirements of the statutory exemption differently than did the trial court, we reverse the appealed judgment in part and remand for a consideration of [136]*136whether any of the remaining owners can establish entitlement to the exemption.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2. A "mobile home" is defined by statute as a structure "that... is, or was as originally constructed, designed to be transported by any motor vehicle upon a public highway and designed, equipped and used primarily for sleeping, eating and living quarters, or is intended to be so used; and includes any additions, attachments, annexes, foundations and appurtenances." Wis. Stat. § 66.058(l)(d) (1997-98).1 Mobile homes in Wisconsin may be taxed as real property, or as personal property, or they may be exempt from property taxes altogether, depending on such things as their location, physical support and size.

(1) A mobile home, as defined in s. 66.058(l)(d), is an improvement to real property if it is connected to utilities and is set upon a foundation upon land which is owned by the mobile home owner. In this section, a mobile home is "set upon a foundation" if it is off its wheels and is set upon some other support.
(2) A mobile home, as defined in s. 66.058(l)(d), is personal property if the land upon which it is located is not owned by the mobile home owner or if the mobile home is not set upon a foundation or connected to utilities.

Wis. Stat. § 70.043. However, mobile homes "that are no larger than 400 square feet and that are used primarily as temporary living quarters for recreational, [137]*137camping, travel or seasonal purposes" are exempted from general property taxes. WlS. STAT. § 70.111(19)(b).

¶ 3. The plaintiffs are the owners of "approximately 138 separate lots" in a subdivision known as Wisconsin's Rock River Leisure Estates. They commenced three separate actions challenging the lawfulness of real property taxes the Town had levied on mobile homes situated on their lots for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997. The three actions were consolidated, and the parties stipulated that the facts pertaining to the mobile homes of twenty plaintiffs would be deemed to be representative of all plaintiffs for purposes of the Town's summary judgment motion.

¶ 4. The parties' stipulation provides the following facts regarding these twenty plaintiffs. Each of them has on his or her lot a "basic unit" consisting of a "structure that is, or was as originally constructed, designed to be transported by any motor vehicle upon a public highway and designed, equipped and used primarily for sleeping, eating, and living quarters." The floor area of these "basic units" ranges from 372 to 420 square feet, with all but one of the twenty being 400 square feet or less. Wheels remain on each of the basic units, and with three exceptions, the weight of the units "is at least partially on these wheels." The remaining weight of the units is borne by "stabilizers" placed under them, such as cement or cinder blocks or screw jacks.2 The owners all reside in their basic units, but only a few do so year-round. Most reside in them for two to seven months of the year.

[138]*138¶ 5. Each lot also contains "one or more structures in addition to the basic unit." The "additional structures" include such things as decks attached to the basic units with lug nuts; screened rooms or porches on footings, attached to the basic units by caulking; and free standing sheds. All of the basic units are connected to utilities.

¶ 6. The Town assessed and taxed all of the owners' basic units and additional structures as improvements to real estate in 1995, 1996 and 1997. The owners paid the taxes and filed claims with the Town for the refund of "unlawful" taxes, which were disallowed. See Wis. Stat. § 74.35. This litigation followed, and the Town moved for summary judgment of dismissal. The trial court concluded that a mobile home on an owner's lot could not be taxed as real property unless "the majority of the weight of the mobile home is borne by some support other than its wheels." Nonetheless, because the court also concluded that none of the mobile homes were exempt from personal property taxes, it entered judgment dismissing the owners' claims. The owners appeal the judgment.

ANALYSIS

¶ 7. We review an order for summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as the trial court. Voss v. City of Middleton, 162 Wis. 2d 737, 748, 470 N.W.2d 625 (1991). Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, answers, admissions and affidavits show no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Maynard v. Port Publ'ns, Inc., 98 Wis. 2d 555, 558, 297 N.W.2d 500 (1980). The issues in this appeal largely present questions of statutory interpretation, which we [139]*139also decide de novo. See Truttschel v. Martin, 208 Wis. 2d 361, 364-65, 560 N.W.2d 315 (Ct. App. 1997).

¶ 8. The owners' principal arguments focus on what they claim to be the trial court's unconstitutional "imposition" of a personal property tax on their mobile homes. They claim the trial court should have ended its decision with its conclusion that "off its wheels and . .. set upon some other support," under WlS. STAT. § 70.043(1), means that a mobile home that is connected to utilities and situated on its owner's land may only be taxed as an improvement to real property if "the majority of the weight of the mobile home is borne by some support other than its wheels." And, because the trial court also concluded that the record on summary judgment was insufficient to determine whether most of the representative mobile homes did or did not meet its 50% support test, the owners assert that the court should have denied the Town's motion and set the matter for trial.

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Related

Columbus Park Housing Corp. v. City of Kenosha
2002 WI App 310 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2002)
Ahrens v. Town of Fulton
2002 WI 29 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2002)
Ahrens v. Town of Fulton
2000 WI App 268 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
2000 WI App 268, 621 N.W.2d 643, 240 Wis. 2d 124, 2000 Wisc. App. LEXIS 1110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ahrens-v-town-of-fulton-wisctapp-2000.