Court Opinion

ID: 9521142
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 01:58:44.945469+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:56.225764
License: Public Domain

ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.
¶ 44. (dissenting). The recreational immunity statute defines "property" as: "real property and buildings, structures and improvements thereon, and the waters of the state."
*586¶ 45. The essence of the majority opinion rests on its conclusion that this definition of property unambiguously creates three distinctly defined categories of property. Yet, the majority is able to reach this conclusion only by dismissing or ignoring rules of grammar and glossing over the ambiguity inherent in this definition. I conclude that the statute's definition of property is ambiguous and that the majority's bright-line, three-category interpretation conflicts with the legislative intent to provide immunity for outdoor activity.
¶ 46. The parties have framed the question of immunity in this case as dependent on whether the statute creates two or three categories of property. According to Peterson, if the statute defines only two categories of property, the owner of a structure, building, or improvement may enjoy immunity only if that owner also owns the underlying land. If, however, the statute defines three categories of property under the majority approach, then an owner of a structure, building, or improvement is immune regardless of the ownership of the land on which that structure, building, or improvement stands. Rather than focusing on whether there are two or three categories, I conclude that there are several constructions of the definition of property.
I. USE OF GRAMMAR
¶ 47. It is only by selectively dismissing or ignoring the legislature's use of commas that the majority is able to avoid the ambiguity in the statute and give it a reading that creates three distinctly defined categories of property. The majority declares, "[w]e decline to give the absence of a comma such interpretive significance." Majority op. at ¶ 19.
¶ 48. I question whether the legislature's choice of punctuation in a statute may be dismissed so easily. *587Case law abounds with disputes that revolve around the placement of a comma in a statute or other writing. See State ex rel. Ahlgrimm v. State Elections Bd., 82 Wis. 2d 585, 590, 263 N.W.2d 152 (1978) (use of comma after phrase in statute provides grammatical support for particular conclusion); see also State v. Stepniewski, 105 Wis. 2d 261, 275, 314 N.W.2d 98 (1982); Mahon v. Security First Nat'l Bank, 56 Wis. 2d 171, 179, 201 N.W.2d 573 (1972); Baker v. McDel Corp., 53 Wis. 2d 71, 79, 191 N.W.2d 846 (1971) ("[w]e cannot ignore punctuation when interpreting a contract"); Georgiades v. Glickman, 272 Wis. 257, 263, 75 N.W.2d 573 (1956) ("the insertion of the comma. . . does present an issue of interpretation"); Jauqet Lumber Co. v. Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Co., 164 Wis. 2d 689, 700, 476 N.W.2d 305 (Ct. App. 1991) ("[f|or the trial court's reading to be correct there would have to be a comma inserted").
¶ 49. The sentence we are interpreting in subsection (f) defines property as "real property and buildings^ structures and improvements thereon;, and the waters of the state." (Emphasis added.) There are two commas in the above quoted definition. Why is that important to note? The foundation of the majority opinion rests on dismissing the placement of the first comma and completely ignoring the second comma. If the majority acknowledges the placement of these commas, it cannot reach its conclusion that the statute unambiguously creates immunity for owners of three distinctly defined categories of property.
¶ 50. Admittedly, the rules of grammar are only tools to assist in interpretation and should not be mechanistically applied at the expense of a natural reading of the text and its purpose. Here, however, in examining a short, 14-word definition, the majority discards or ignores not one, not two, but three rules of *588grammar. Essentially, without explanation, the majority attempts to divorce its interpretation from the accepted use of grammar. Such an attempt calls into question the validity of the majority's approach.
The First Comma
¶ 51. The majority's interpretation violates the rule of the serial comma: in a series of three or more, a comma shall appear after the. first term or category listed. See The Gregg Reference Manual 15 (9th ed. 2001). The majority contends that the first distinct category listed is "real property." Thus, a comma should appear after this first category — but none appears. Instead, the first comma appears after the word "buildings." Such a placement is inconsistent with the majority's interpretation. The majority cannot reconcile its interpretation with the legislature's placement of this comma. Unable to explain it, the majority dismisses the placement of the comma as insignificant.
The Second Comma
¶ 52. A review of the surrounding text of the statute demonstrates that the drafter of the statute adheres to the rule: in a series of three or more, no comma is used preceding the final conjunction. Let me illustrate.
¶ 53. In the text of the recreational immunity statute, the definition of "recreational activity" immediately follows the sentence that we are interpreting in this case. The definition contains a serial listing. "Recreational activity" is defined as an activity undertaken "for the purpose of exercise, relaxation or pleasure." Consistent with the rule, no comma is used preceding the final conjunction, "or."
*589¶ 54. Likewise, the next sentence in the text also contains a serial listing of three or more terms which concludes with "any other sport, game or educational activity." Again, consistent with the rule, no comma is used before the final conjunction.
¶ 55. The majority's interpretation of three distinct categories of property, however, is inconsistent with the rule. The drafter placed a comma before the conjunction, "and." Such a placement suggests that the drafter did not intend to create three categories.
¶ 56. The opinion of the majority fails to discuss or even acknowledge the placement of the second comma. Instead, it ignores it. The majority offers no explanation why the surrounding text of the statute adheres to the rule while the majority's interpretation is inconsistent with the rule.
The Use of the Term "thereon"
¶ 57. The majority concludes that "buildings, structures and improvements thereon," is one of three clearly distinct categories. In arriving at this conclusion, it ignores the dictionary meaning of "thereon." The term means "on that" or "concerning that subject." Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary 1894 (2d ed. 1983) (emphasis added).
¶ 58. The definition of property set forth in subsection (f) states: "real property and buildings, structures and improvements thereon, and the waters of the state." If the drafter had intended "buildings, structures and improvements thereon," to be a distinct category, the statute should read "buildings, structures and improvements on real property." Instead, the drafter used the term "thereon," which signals that the buildings, structures and improvements are to be on that specific *590real property referred to in the first part of the definition. The plain meaning of the term "thereon" conflicts with the majority's conclusion that the drafter clearly intended to create three distinctly defined categories of property.
II. THE DEFINITION OF "PROPERTY" IS AMBIGUOUS
¶ 59. We cannot ignore punctuation when interpreting a statute. The above discussion demonstrates, at the very least, that the definition of "property" is ambiguous. The majority is simply incorrect in its conclusion that the statute clearly and unambiguously creates immunity for owners of three distinctly defined categories of property.
¶ 60. I conclude that there are several constructions of the language in subsection (f). First, as Peterson advances, the definition could be interpreted to identify two categories of property: (1) real property along with the buildings, structures, and improvements on that real property, and (2) the waters of the state. Second, as a variation on Peterson's approach, the definition could be interpreted to include three categories, but a different three than those identified by Midwest and the majority: (1) real property, (2) buildings, structures and improvements on that real property, and (3) the waters of the state. Third, as Midwest argues, the definition could be interpreted to identify the following three categories: (1) real property, (2) any buildings, structures, and improvements on any real property, and (3) the waters of the state. Fourth, the definition could be interpreted to identify three categories of property, but again a different three than those identified by Midwest and the majority: (1) real property and buildings, (2) structures and improve*591ments thereon, and (3) the waters of the state. Rather than addressing the ambiguity, the majority summarily concludes that the "clear" language is consistent with legislative intent.
III. LEGISLATIVE INTENT
¶ 61. Having concluded that the definition of "property" is ambiguous, I look to the purpose of the statute as evidence of legislative intent. McDonough v. DWD, 227 Wis. 2d 271, 277, 595 N.W.2d 686 (1999); Miller v. Mauston School Dist., 222 Wis. 2d 540, 548, 588 N.W.2d 305 (Ct. App. 1998). Based on the purpose of the recreational immunity statute, it is difficult to determine that the legislature intended to create the three categories the majority has identified.
¶ 62. The purpose of the statute focuses on recreational activity. Because recreational activity is defined as outdoor activity under the statute, it makes little sense for the majority to define all buildings and structures as "property." The majority's definition of property that includes any buildings and structures, regardless of where they stand, can hardly he said to comport with the idea that recreational activity takes place outdoors. How does one enter a building or structure in order to engage in an outdoor activity?
¶ 63. Although I agree with the majority's analysis of the legislative purpose that accompanied the repeal of the old recreational immunity statute, Wis. Stat. § 29.68, and its replacement with Wis. Stat. § 895.52, this analysis offers little assistance in resolving the issues in this case. The majority notes that the purpose of the statute has been stated as: to immunize "property owners" against liability "for any injury to a person engaged in a recreational activity on *592the owner's property." Majority op. at ¶ 12. However, this statement of purpose serves only to beg the question in this case because it says nothing about who is an "owner" or what is "property," which are precisely the issues before us.
¶ 64. In short, the recreational immunity statute, by its very essence, contemplates activities that take place out-of-doors. Nonetheless, the majority has immunized an entire class of property owners, where the underlying property, by its very nature, will usually encompass indoor activity. In this case, the fact that Peterson was hunting upon a "structure" that happened to be nothing more than a non-enclosed platform attached to a tree obscures the breadth of the majority's three-category rule. The result may appear to comport with the legislative intent in this case, but what of others down the road?
¶ 65. I disagree with the majority's basic premise that the statute unambiguously creates immunity for owners of three distinctly defined categories of "property." Additionally, I conclude that the majority's broad definition cannot be what the legislature intended. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.