Court Opinion

ID: 9698829
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 20:00:51.830508+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:43.565847
License: Public Domain

CONNOR T. HANSEN, J.
(concurring). I concur with the result reached by the majority in this case. However, I am unable to join in the opinion of the court.
This is an appeal from an order overruling a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. Therefore, the single issue before this court is whether the complaint states any claim upon which relief can be granted. Kurtz v. City of Waukesha, 91 Wis.2d 103, 107, 280 N.W.2d 757 (1979); Attoe v. Madison Pro. Policemen’s Asso., 79 Wis. 2d 199, 205, 255 N.W.2d 489 (1977); Int’l. Found. Emp. Ben. Plans v. Brookfield, 74 Wis.2d 544, 548, 247 N.W.2d 129 (1976). Yet the majority opinion contains a dissertation of the law applicable to the claims for relief which are alleged. The opinion discusses at length such matters as the origin of the traditional rule that there is no duty to disclose in an arm’s-length transaction, the creation of exceptions to this rule, the tests used by courts to determine whether the rule of non-disclosure should be abandoned, and the Restatement’s formulation of a rule embodying the trend toward a more frequent recognition of a duty to disclose. In the opinion of this writer, such a discussion is inappropriate and totally unnecessary, because the only issue before the court is whether the pleadings set forth any facts upon which relief can be granted.
Moreover, having determined that the complaint states a claim for intentional' misrepresentation, the majority *55does not decide whether the complaint states a claim for negligent misrepresentation. Yet the opinion proceeds to discuss the public policy considerations that may preclude liability for negligence, and the reluctance of the courts to impose liability for negligent misrepresentation causing pecuniary loss. Liability is not at issue here. What is at issue is the sufficiency of the complaint. Since the majority concludes that it is unnecessary to determine whether the complaint states a cause of action for negligent misrepresentation, it would seem there is no reason to further discuss such a possible theory of recovery.
Except in the unusual case, this court has generally directed its attention to the issue of the appeal when considering the review of an order denying a motion to dismiss a complaint. In my opinion the court should adhere to this practice in the instant case. There is no necessity for expounding on various legal principles relating to the theories of recovery advanced by the plaintiff at the pleading stage. In most instances, attempting to decide the law of the case when the case has not been tried and the facts are not before the court is an appellate practice to be avoided.
Therefore, although I concur in the result reached by the majority, I respectfully decline to join the opinion.
I am authorized to state that Mr. Chief Justice Beil-euss and Mr. Justice Coffey join in this concurring opinion.