Appellate Jurisdiction.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

WI Court of Appeals District IV

Case Name: Eunice L. Poteete, et al., v. Nancy Wales

Case No.: 2020AP741

Officials: BLANCHARD, J.

Focus: Appellate Jurisdiction

Eunice and Larry Poteete (the tenants) appeal a March 2020 order of the circuit court in their action against Nancy Wales (the landlord). The tenants' action primarily arose out of a dispute over the landlord's return, or failure to return, some or all of the tenants' security deposit. After a trial to the circuit court, the court issued an August 2019 order granting a judgment largely in the tenants' favor. The tenants filed a post-judgment motion seeking an amended judgment that would increase their damages on two grounds, which are the two arguments that they now attempt to renew on appeal: (1) the circuit court erred in making determinations about the timing of lease termination and about when the landlord learned that the tenants had vacated the unit; and (2) the court should have awarded the tenants their actual attorney fees and costs. The court denied the post-judgment motion in March 2020.

After the tenants initiated this appeal, this court issued an order identifying the need for the parties to address appellate jurisdiction. The order observed that the tenants had filed their notice of appeal from the March 2020 order only after the time to appeal the August 2019 order granting the judgment had expired. The order of this court explained that the timing of the notice of appeal may deprive this court of jurisdiction to consider the appeal. For this reason, the order directed the parties to make the threshold issue of...