32.27 shall be construed as creating in any condemnation proceedings brought under the power of eminent domain, any element of damages. History: 1971 c. 99, 103, 244, 287; 1973 c. 192; 1975 c. 224, 273; 1977 c. 418, 438, 440; 1979 c. 32, 221, 358, 361; 1981 c. 390 s. 252; 1983 a. 27 ss. 881 to 888; 1983 a. 186, 189; 1983 a. 236 ss. 12, 13; 1983 a. 538; 1987 a. 399; 1993 a. 112; 1995 a. 27 ss. 1713 to 1722, 9116 (5); 1995 a. 225; 1997 a. 79; 2011 a. 32; 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 243. Cross-reference: See also s. Adm 92.001, Wis. adm. code. Owners of rental property who do not physically occupy the real property taken for public use are ineligible for business replacement payments under sub. (4m). A business that owned a parking lot used for customer and employee parking was an occupant of the lot and a displaced person under sub. (2) (e) eligible for relocation benefits under s. 32.05 (8). City of Milwaukee v. Roadster LLC, 2003 WI App 131, 265 Wis. 2d 518, 666 N.W.2d 524, 02-3102. Both statutory and administrative code provisions contemplate that the initial offer of a replacement housing payment is not static in amount. These provisions contemplate a more dynamic approach, allowing for recomputation of the payment after the acquisition damages have been more fully assessed. Pinczkowski v. Milwaukee County, 2005 WI 161, 286 Wis. 2d 339, 706 N.W.2d 642, 03-1732. Sub. (2) (c) does not require: 1) identification of a property that is identical to the property condemned; or 2) that, at the moment of identification, the property, without modification, can be used by the business that was relocated. Rather, it requires identification of a property that with modification can be used for the occupier’s business. A condemnor has no open-ended obligation to provide a replacement property that is acceptable to the business being relocated. City of Janesville v. CC Midwest, Inc., 2007 WI 93, 302 Wis. 2d 599, 734 N.W.2d 428, 04-0267. The definition of “displaced person” in sub. (2) (e) 1. b. provides that a displaced person is one whose move is prompted by “rehabilitation, demolition, or other displacing activity” and is an alternative to sub. (2) (e) 1. a., which contains no reference to the physical condition or habitability of the condemned property, and instead defines displaced person in terms of “direct” causation. Sub. (2) (e) 1. b. contains no explicit requirement that a person’s move must be “forced” or involuntary in order to render that person “displaced.” Waller v. American Transmission Co., 2013 WI 77, 350 Wis. 2d 242, 833 N.W.2d 764, 12-0805. A suit against a state agency constitutes a suit against the state for purposes of sovereign immunity. If the legislature has not specifically consented to the suit, then sovereign immunity deprives the court of personal jurisdiction. The legislature has specifically directed the manner in which suits may be brought against the state to vindicate rights under this section. The displaced person must file a claim under s. 32.20, which must, under that section’s specific language, precede any resort to court. Aesthetic & Cosmetic Plastic Surgery Center, LLC v. DOT, 2014 WI App 88, 356 Wis. 2d 197, 853 N.W.2d 607, 13-2052. State debt financing of relocation payments is permissible under article VIII, section 7 (2) (a), of the Wisconsin Constitution. 62 Atty. Gen. 42. Discussing relocation benefits and services when an owner initiates negotiations for an acquisition. 62 Atty. Gen. 168. State agencies engaging in advance land acquisitions must comply with this section et seq., Wisconsin’s relocation assistance and payment law. 63 Atty. Gen. 201. Wisconsin condemnors are not bound by the federal relocation act. Relocation assistance and payments to displaced persons must be made in accordance with ss. 32.19 to 32.27. Unrelated individuals who share a common dwelling for convenience sake without a common head of the household are persons under this section. 63 Atty. Gen. 229. Religious societies incorporated under ch. 187 are “persons” within the meaning of the relocation assistance act and are entitled to the benefits of the act if they otherwise qualify. 63 Atty. Gen. 578. An owner of rental property, regardless of its size, is engaged in “business” under sub. (2) (d) [now sub. (2) (a)]. 69 Atty. Gen. 11. Owners of rental property who do not physically occupy real property taken for public use are not eligible for business replacement payments under sub. (4m). 69 Atty. Gen. 263. Condemnors may not offer displaced persons a loan or alternative assistance in lieu of payments. Condemnors may not obtain waivers of benefits as a condition for participation in an acquisition program. 70 Atty. Gen. 94. A tenant who rents new property in reasonable anticipation of displacement prior to actual displacement is entitled to replacement payments under sub. (4m) (b). 70 Atty. Gen. 120. There was no constitutional “taking” when tenants were ordered to vacate temporarily their uninhabitable dwelling to permit repairs pursuant to a housing code. Devines v. Maier, 728 F.2d 876 (1984). Eminent Domain—Compensation for Lost Rents. 1971 WLR 657.
Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.
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