Oral Arguments on Koble Investments v. Marquardt Case To Be Heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on September 9, 2025.
Next Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 9:45 a.m., the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Koble Investments v. Marquardt. The attorneys will argue the issues in the case and be peppered with questions from the Justices. The result of this case will be significant to the rental industry, all housing providers, and those who rent from them. There is no set time frame by which the Court must provide a written decision after oral arguments. For the sake of the many landlords and property management companies with class action lawsuits pending against them throughout the state, hopefully, the Court will move swiftly.
It is believed that the Court will decide, at a minimum, two key issues. First, does the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) apply to residential landlord-tenant relationships, and if so, how are the WCA and Wisconsin’s Landlord-Tenant laws to be blended? Second, if a tenant alleges that their rental document contain one of the “10 Deadly Sins” (or more accurately, violate one of the ten things that should not be included in residential rental agreement as outlined in Wis. Stat. 704.44 and Wisc. Admin. Code ATCP 134.08), is the tenant entitled to the return of all rent paid during the tenancy (disgorgement) plus double damages plus their attorney’s fees without having to prove a causal connection between the alleged violation and their alleged harm.
Please note that the above issues have been simplified considerably for this blog post.
In addition to the written briefs submitted by the parties, the Wisconsin Supreme Court permitted briefs from five groups, including coalitions of real-estate industry associations and legal-aid/advocacy organizations, reflecting the case’s broad policy impact on landlords and tenants.
I have included links to the many briefs, including the “Friends of the Court” (amici briefs), for those who want to delve into the specific issues and arguments. At the very end of this blog post, I have provided you with a link to the live stream so that you can watch the oral arguments on Tuesday, without having to travel to Madison.
CCAP: The link below will take you to the entire appellate history of the case and provide you with access to the briefs of all of the parties.
Koble Investments CCAP Case History
Amici Briefs: For ease of access, below are the links to the amici briefs
Amicus Brief of Coalition for Maintaining Affordable Housing, UA and Appendix
Amicus Brief of North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
Amicus Brief of Wisconsin Realtors Association, et al.
Amicus Brief of Wisconsin Builders Association
Amicus Brief of Legal Action, et al.
Below is a link to live stream Tuesday’s oral arguments, if you want to watch. I plan to be there in person, observing.