Covid Emergency Eviction Moratorium Punishes Landlord
Post 5428
In Koble Investments v. Elicia Marquardt v. James Miller, Intervenor-Appellant, Supreme Court, 420 Wis.2d 304, No. 2022AP182 (June 5, 2026.) (Reversing 412 Wis. 2d 1, 7 N.W.3d 915.) 2026 WI 19, 420 Wis.2d 308 Koble Investments served tenant Elicia Marquardt with an eviction notice for nonpayment of rent during Governor Tony Evers’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium.
Marquardt counterclaimed, alleging Koble violated the Wisconsin Consumer Act by attempting to collect a debt or enforce a right it knew or should have known did not exist. She also claimed the residential lease was void and unenforceable because it permitted termination for crime-related conduct but omitted statutory domestic abuse protections required by Wisconsin landlord-tenant law.
The circuit court dismissed Koble’s eviction claim and rejected Marquardt’s counterclaims. Her former attorney, James Miller, sought to intervene to recover statutory attorney fees. The court denied fee recovery but later allowed Miller to intervene solely to appeal the statutory-fee issues.
The court of appeals reversed, holding that the Wisconsin Consumer Act applied to the lease, that Koble violated the Act, and that Marquardt and Miller could recover damages, costs, and attorney fees.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
LAW
The principal statutes were the Wisconsin Consumer Act, which regulates debt-collection conduct arising from consumer credit transactions or other consumer transactions involving an agreement to defer payment which permits attorney-fee recovery when a customer prevails under the WCA; and Wis., which address prohibited residential lease provisions; which requires notice of domestic abuse protections; and which allows double damages and attorney fees for pecuniary loss caused by violations of certain consumer-protection orders.
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Wis. Stat. § 427.104 does not apply to a residential lease under which rent is payable monthly because such a lease is not an “agreement to defer payment.” Rent under a typical residential lease accrues month by month; the tenant does not owe all future rent at the moment the lease is signed. Because future rent obligations do not yet exist, they cannot be deferred.
The court rejected the court of appeals’ creative view that a one-year lease payable in monthly installments resembles an installment contract.
The Supreme Court also reasoned that Wisconsin landlord-tenant statutes and regulations confirm this interpretation. Wisconsin law treats rent as maturing when due, limits prepaid rent, restricts acceleration of rent, and requires landlords to mitigate damages after default. These rules are inconsistent with treating a residential lease as a deferred-payment arrangement.
On the damages issue, the court did not decide whether the lease was void for omitting domestic abuse protections. Instead, it assumed for purposes of analysis that the lease might be void and held that Marquardt still failed to prove a recoverable pecuniary loss.
She received occupancy in exchange for rent, and there was no evidence she actually paid the claimed late fees or filing fee. Because she did not show a causal connection between the alleged statutory violation and any financial loss, neither she nor Miller could recover damages, costs, or attorney fees.
CONCLUSION
Because Koble served Marquardt with an eviction notice during the COVID-19 eviction moratorium, the court concluded Koble violated the Wisconsin statutes. The court also declared the lease void and unenforceable under Wisconsin statutes because Koble omitted the notice of domestic abuse protections. Accordingly, the court held that Wis. Stat. § 100.20(5) entitled Marquardt to recover double the damages caused by Koble’s violation of § 704.44(10) and § ATPC 134.08(10), and Attorney Miller could recover reasonable attorney fees and costs under § 100.20(5) and Wis. Stat. § 425.308(1). Id., ¶¶ 32, 50.
In Wisconsin, a landlord is entitled to recover rent as it matures, not before. Logically, an obligation that does not yet exist cannot be deferred.
The Supreme Court recognized that a tenant’s obligation to pay rent under a typical residential lease accrues on a monthly basis. Because a tenant is not obligated to pay — upfront — all rent that will become due during the entire lease term, the obligation to pay rent each month is best understood as “a contemporaneous exchange of consideration” — one month of rent for one more month of occupancy.
A residential lease is not an installment contract. The lease obligated Marquardt to pay rent only on a monthly basis, in exchange for which Marquardt received the exclusive right to occupy the property during the month for which she paid.
No court has applied the WCA to residential leases in the fifty-four years after its enactment despite residential leases being frequently litigated.
CONCLUSION
The decision of the court of appeals was reversed.
ZALMA OPINION
This interesting case is not an insurance case as is my usual but deserves to learn that signing a lease does not require payment of all rent that will become due during the entire lease term, the obligation to pay rent each month is best understood as “a contemporaneous exchange of consideration” — one month of rent for one more month of occupancy. Laws created by the Covid Pandemic did not change contract law.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Insurance Expert May Not Testify to Speculative and Contains Unsupported Conclusions.
Posted on September 18, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at and at https://rumble.com/v7fmifw-expert-may-only-testify-to-what-experience-supports.html
In Michele A. Over, and The Estate Of Paul R. Over v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and State Farm Fire And Casualty Company, Civil Action No. 23-cv-02243-PAB-STV, United States District Court, D. Colorado (September 14, 2026) Michele and Paul Over sued State Farm Fire and State Farm Auto over hail-damage and stolen-vehicle claims.
The operative dispute concerned State Farm Auto’s motion to exclude or limit opinions from plaintiffs’ insurance-industry expert, Aaron Castillo. Castillo.
Law
The proponent of expert testimony must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that an expert is qualified and that the opinions are helpful, sufficiently grounded, and reliably derived and applied. Experience-based opinions must explain how the...
150 Months in Prison for Tax Fraud
Post 4846
Posted on September 17, 2026 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/g8rh3JBX and https://lnkd.in/gmkdy-9C, In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
In United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, United States Of America v. Thomas Addaquay, Nos. 25-10609, 25-10611, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit (September 9, 2026) the Eleventh Circuit affirmed all challenged convictions, the 150-month aggregate sentence, and the challenged $4,123,474.55 restitution award.
FACTS
Thomas Addaquay controlled United Consolidated Accounting and Business Services (UC), nominally a check-cashing business.
The government proved a three-stage tax-refund scheme that converted the resulting refund checks into usable funds through ...
Major Fraud Perpetrator Asserts Fifth Amendment Privilege to Avoid Prosecution
Post 5489
Posted on September 14, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Fraudster Refuses to Answer Questions About His Alleged Fraud
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr and at https://lnkd.in/gvicAMDr
In Great American Insurance Co. v. Gemstone Property Management, LLC, et al., No. 23-cv-9100 (LJL), United States District Court, S.D. New York (September 8, 2026) Great American Insurance Company alleged that it was defrauded through a scheme in which Subin Associates, LLP recruited individuals to stage construction-site injuries, arranged unnecessary medical treatment and litigation funding, and pursued fraudulent personal-injury claims.
Luis Manuel Garcia Salcedo, resulted in a $6 million settlement. Non-party Jose Hernandez allegedly worked as an assistant manager at Subin, operated Hernandez Associates, and owned litigation-funding companies that shared office space with Subin and provided services to its clients.
After Great American ...
Defendants Successfully Moved for Summary Judgment
Post 4854
Posted on September 30, 2026 by Barry Zalma
In Jeffrey Wayne Phillips v. Creative Website Studios, et al., No. 5:23-CV-568-BO-BM, United States District Court, E.D. North Carolina, Western Division (September 28, 2026) the Court needed to rule on the order and memorandum and recommendation (“M&R”) of the Magistrate.
Jeffrey Wayne Phillips had contracted with Creative Website Studios and SR Telecommunications for website and hosting services. He alleged that defendants repeatedly billed him for hosting periods he had already paid for and later took down his website. Phillips claimed the outage prevented him from bidding on U.S. government security contracts and sought roughly $300 million in consequential damages.
LAW
Under North Carolina law, fraud requires a false material representation or concealment, intent and effect of deception, resulting damage, and reasonable reliance. Obtaining property by false pretenses similarly requires an ...
Accused of 17 Counts Of Fraud Attempts to Keep Out Evidence of Crimes
Post 4853
Posted on September 29, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Court Refuses to Grant Most Motions in Limine
In United States Of America v. Seth Allen Aikens, II, Criminal No. 22-119, United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania (September 23, 2026) Defendant Seth Allen Aikens II faces thirty federal counts. The indictment alleges that, from about June 2016 through March 2020, Aikens solicited start-up businesses seeking websites, applications, hosting, payment processing, and related services. The Government estimated aggregate losses of approximately $1.3 million involving about eight charged customers.
The Government also sought to introduce evidence involving three uncharged persons. Robert Polonsky allegedly paid about $10,000 for web development, hosting, and advertising services but did not receive the promised core deliverables. Brandon Canwright allegedly paid approximately $1,877 for a website and related services that were not delivered and received no ...
Accused of 17 Counts Of Fraud Attempts to Keep Out Evidence of Crimes
Post 4853
Posted on September 29, 2026 by Barry Zalma
Court Refuses to Grant Most Motions in Limine
In United States Of America v. Seth Allen Aikens, II, Criminal No. 22-119, United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania (September 23, 2026) Defendant Seth Allen Aikens II faces thirty federal counts. The indictment alleges that, from about June 2016 through March 2020, Aikens solicited start-up businesses seeking websites, applications, hosting, payment processing, and related services. The Government estimated aggregate losses of approximately $1.3 million involving about eight charged customers.
The Government also sought to introduce evidence involving three uncharged persons. Robert Polonsky allegedly paid about $10,000 for web development, hosting, and advertising services but did not receive the promised core deliverables. Brandon Canwright allegedly paid approximately $1,877 for a website and related services that were not delivered and received no ...
