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Steiner v. Wisconsin American Mutual Insurance Co.6/9/2005
ay sign and enter it. We disagree with the court of appeals. It is not always clear what is happening between the parties. Take the instant case, for example. Three different dates of passage of equitable title are possible: October 7, November 17, and December 1. For anyone interested in clear title, determining where title rests during the confusion created by the parties' actions may be a daunting task indeed. The facts of this case demonstrate that title reverting only upon a final court order makes sense.
The court of appeals' final consideration is that although under its interpretation of Wis. Stat. § 846.30 the confirming order does not establish the date of transfer of title, it does add a measure of certainty and predictability that did not exist at common law.
We agree with the court of appeals that the second and final sentence of Wis. Stat. § 846.30 appears to have been designed to add certainty and predictability to strict foreclosures by characterizing the order as final and absolute. We part company with the court of appeals, however, because its interpretation of § 846.30 disrupts certainty and predictability by mandating that a land contract vendee's equitable title reverts to the vendor at the expiration of the redemption period without any court order. The instant case illustrates the uncertainty that can occur and the importance of a court order that definitively establishes the rights and interests of the parties.
For the reasons set forth, we hold that under Wis. Stat. § 846.30, equitable title remains with a land contract vendee until a circuit court enters an order pursuant to § 846.30 confirming the land contract vendee's default, following the expiration of the redemption period for strict foreclosure.
V.
We now turn to the instant case and apply Wis. Stat. § 846.30: The land contract vendee's equitable title reverts to the land contract vendor on the entering of a final order in a strict foreclosure proceeding.
Although the facts are undisputed for purposes of a motion for summary judgment, we must examine the circuit court judgments and orders closely. There are inconsistencies in the proceedings, some of which were on the record in the circuit court and others of which were not.
The first hearing on the strict foreclosure action took place on September 7, 1999. According to the transcript of the proceedings, the court ordered the remedy of specific performance, not strict foreclosure, and set a redemption date of October 7, 1999. It held that if the Steiner Corporation did not redeem before that time, the property would be sold at a sheriff's sale.
The Steiner Corporation did not redeem in the 30-day redemption period set to expire on October 7, 1999, nor was the property sold by sheriff's sale. Therefore, the remedy of specific performance was not effectuated. Instead, the parties returned to court on October 19, 1999. At the October 19, 1999 hearing, the circuit court entered a judgment of strict foreclosure, ordering (retroactively) October 7, 1999, as the redemption date.
The date of October 7, 1999 is inconsistent with Wis. Stat. § 846.30. Wisconsin Stat. § 846.30 requires at a minimum a seven working day redemption period "from the date of the judgment hearing or, if there is no hearing, from the date of the judgment order." Regardless of the nature of the October 19 hearing and "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law," the redemption period under Wis. Stat. § 846.30 can be construed as expiring no earlier than October 28, 1999, seven working days from the October 19 hearing, or as expiring no earlier than November 18, 30 days from October 19.
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