MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell Inc.

2013 WI App 14, 828 N.W.2d 575, 346 Wis. 2d 173, 2013 WL 238550, 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 68
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedJanuary 23, 2013
DocketNo. 2008AP1830
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2013 WI App 14 (MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell Inc.) 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
MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell Inc., 2013 WI App 14, 828 N.W.2d 575, 346 Wis. 2d 173, 2013 WL 238550, 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 68 (Wis. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

CURLEY, P.J.

¶ 1. This appeal is before us on remand from the supreme court. MBS-Certified Fublic Accountants, LLC and Thomas H. Schmitt, CEA, d/b/a Metropolitan Business Services (unless otherwise specified, collectively referred to as "MBS," using the singular pronoun "it") initially appealed the trial court's order dismissing a number of claims — including claims made pursuant to the anti-"cramming" statute, Wis. Stat. § 100.207 (2009-10)1 — against Wisconsin Bell Inc., ILD Communications, Inc., Americatel Corp., and Local Biz USA, Inc., (unless otherwise specified, collectively referred to as "defendants") and ILD cross-appealed. On [178]*178appeal, we concluded, as did the trial court below, that the voluntary payment doctrine precluded MBS's claims. See MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell, Inc., 2010 WI App 135, ¶ 1, 329 Wis. 2d 709, 790 N.W.2d 542 (unpublished) ("MBS I"). We further concluded that, because the voluntary payment doctrine precluded MBS's claims, we did not need to address ILD's cross-appeal, nor did we need to address the parties' additional arguments regarding the efficacy of the trial court's order. See id., ¶¶ 1, 21. The supreme court, concluding that the voluntary payment doctrine did not preclude MBS's § 100.207 claims because application of the doctrine would undermine the manifest purposes of the statute, reversed our decision. See MBS-Certified Public Accountants, LLC v. Wisconsin Bell, Inc., 2012 WI 15, ¶¶ 4-5, 338 Wis. 2d 647, 809 N.W.2d 857 ("MBS II"). The supreme court also remanded the matter back to us so that we could consider issues initially briefed, but not considered in our original decision. See id., ¶¶ 5, 75, 78-80, 83. Those issues are: (1) the viability of ILD's cross-appeal; (2) MBS's Wis. Stat. § 100.18 claim; and (3) MBS's claim under the Wisconsin Organized Crime Control Act, see Wis. Stat. §§ 946.80-946.88 (2007-08) ("WOCCA"). See MBS II, 338 Wis. 2d 647, ¶¶ 5, 75, 78-80, 83.

¶ 2. On remand, we conclude, for the reasons set forth below, that: (1) MBS's Wis. Stat. § 100.207(2) and (3)(a) claims against ILD; (2) MBS’s Wis. Stat. § 100.18 claim against all defendants; and (3) MBS's WOCCA claim against all defendants should have survived defendants' motion to dismiss. In so concluding, we also herein address any arguments defendants brought in support of their motion to dismiss that were not addressed the first time the case was before us.2 We [179]*179affirm the part of the trial court's order denying ILD's motion to dismiss MBS's § 100.207(2) claim; reverse the part of the trial court's order granting ILD's motion to dismiss MBS's § 100.207(3)(a) claim; reverse the part of the trial court's order granting defendants' motion to dismiss MBS's § 100.18 claim; and reverse the part of the trial court's order granting defendants' motion to dismiss MBS's WOCCA claim.3

Background and Standard of Review

¶ 3. The facts of this case and standard of review are set forth in detail in MBS II, 338 Wis. 2d 647, ¶¶ 6-25. We will therefore provide only such additional facts as are required by the issues raised in the analysis section below.

Analysis

A. The part of the trial court's order denying ILD's motion to dismiss MBS's claim under Wis. Stat. § 100.207(2) is affirmed, and the part of the trial court's order granting ILD's motion to dismiss MBS's claims under Wis. Stat. § 100.207(3)(a) is reversed.

¶ 4. In its cross-appeal, ILD challenges the trial court's rulings as to MBS's Wis. Stat. § 100.207 claims. The complaint alleges that ILD and other defendants [180]*180violated § 100.207(2) by billing MBS in a false, misleading, or deceptive manner, and by omitting information necessary to ensure that statements in the phone bills were not false, deceptive or misleading. The complaint alleges that defendants violated § 100.207(3)(a) by billing MBS for services that it did not affirmatively order, and that were not required by federal law, the FCC, or any local utilities commission. According to ILD, the trial court erroneously held that MBS stated a claim against it for violating § 100.207(2); and "erroneously held that.. . MBS had standing to bring a claim under § 100.207(3)."

¶ 5. We turn first to MBS's claim against ILD under Wis. Stat. § 100.207(2). Section 100.207(2), titled "Advertising and sales representations," provides:

A person may not make in any manner any statement or representation with regard to the provision of telecommunications service, including the rates, terms or conditions for telecommunications service, which is false, misleading or deceptive, or which omits to state material information with respect to the provision of telecommunications service that is necessary to make the statement not false, misleading or deceptive.

(Bolding omitted from title.)

¶ 6. Regarding MBS's Wis. Stat. § 100.207(2) claim, the trial court determined that MBS did state a claim against all defendants, including ILD:

Stating on a phone bill that a customer owes money for services the customer did not authorize is false. Taking the allegations of the complaint as true, each of the defendants made false statements "with regard to the provision of telecommunications service."
And that seems to be the only element that must be shown to demonstrate a violation of [Wis. Stat. §] [181]*181100.207(2). Subsection (2) does not specify to whom the statement must be made, and because it states no limits, it does not appear limited in any way to telecommunications providers who deal directly with customers, and it may be construed to mean that if such a statement is made to anyone on the planet, it is unlawful....
Whatever potential ambiguity might exist in a statute which doesn't identify the victim of the conduct the statute purports to outlaw is clarified in... [Wis. Stat. § 100.207](6)(e), [which] authorizes "any person or class of persons adversely affected by the failure to comply" to bring a suit....
Even though ILD may not have made any statements to the plaintiffs directly, the complaint makes allegations which suggest[] that ILD['s] statements to Wisconsin Bell were false and it adversely affects the plaintiffs, and I must conclude that ILD's conduct is subject to the dictates of [Wis.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Blitz v. Monsanto Co.
317 F. Supp. 3d 1042 (W.D. Wisconsin, 2018)
In re FCA US LLC Monostable Electronic Gearshift Litigation
280 F. Supp. 3d 975 (E.D. Michigan, 2017)
Murillo v. Kohl's Corp.
197 F. Supp. 3d 1119 (E.D. Wisconsin, 2016)
Johnson v. Bankers Life & Casualty Co.
973 F. Supp. 2d 950 (W.D. Wisconsin, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2013 WI App 14, 828 N.W.2d 575, 346 Wis. 2d 173, 2013 WL 238550, 2013 Wisc. App. LEXIS 68, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mbs-certified-public-accountants-llc-v-wisconsin-bell-inc-wisctapp-2013.