Motion to Dismiss For Failure to State a Claim in Wisconsin

Background

“A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim tests whether the complaint is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be granted.” (See St. Paul Fire Marine v. Keltgen (2003) 260 Wis. 2d 523, 540-41.)

“In examining the legal sufficiency of the complaint, we assume that the facts alleged in the complaint are true, and we are concerned only with the legal sufficiency of the complaint.” (See id.)

“Thus, we will affirm an order dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim if it appears to a certainty that no relief can be granted under any set of facts that the plaintiffs could prove in support of their allegations.” (See id.)

General Information for Complaints and Motions

“All facts pleaded and reasonable inferences that may be drawn therefrom are accepted as true for the purposes of testing the sufficiency.” (See id.) 

“Legal inferences and unreasonable inferences, however, need not be accepted as true.” (See id.) 

"A complaint should not be dismissed as legally insufficient unless it appears certain that a plaintiff cannot recover under any circumstances." (See id.)

Standard of Review and Burdens of Proof

“The legal sufficiency of the complaint is a question of law that this court reviews de novo.” (See St. Paul Fire Marine v. Keltgen (2003) 260 Wis. 2d 523, 541.)

“As such, whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted is a question of law that we review independently.” (See Yacht Club at Sister Bay Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Vill. of Sister Bay, Appeal No. 2017AP140, at *6 (Wis. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2017).)

“WISCONSIN STAT. subsection 802.06(2)(b) states that if a party brings a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and the court is offered and does not exclude matters outside the pleading, the motion "shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in [Wis. Stats.] s. 802.08, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion. . . ." (See James v. Brandt (2007) 730 N.W.2d 461.)

“Conversion of a motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment is not required under Wis. Stat. subsection 802.06(2)(b).” (See CTI of Northeast Wisconsin, LLC v. Herrell (2002) 259 Wis. 2d 756, 760-61.)

“If matters beyond the pleadings are submitted on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the trial court must then determine whether it should consider these additional matters. If the court excludes them, the court will proceed to analyze the motion based only on the pleadings and not extraneous information."(See id.)

“If, however, the court does not exclude the supplemental matters, it shall treat the motion to dismiss as a summary judgment motion. When treating the motion as one for summary judgment, the court shall give all parties reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by s. 802.08." (See id.)

“To withstand a motion to dismiss, a complaint must allege facts that, if true, plausibly suggest a violation of applicable law.” (See Yacht Club at Sister Bay Condo. Ass'n, Inc. v. Vill. of Sister Bay, Appeal No. 2017AP140, at *6 (Wis. Ct. App. Oct. 24, 2017).)

The Court’s Decisions

It is well settled that “the court does not have to make a declaration that it is converting a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim into a summary judgment motion. If a motion to dismiss is presented and if the court is presented with extraneous information that it does not exclude, then the court shall treat the motion as one for summary judgment, whether or not it explicitly declares it is doing so.” (See James v. Brandt (2007) 730 N.W.2d 461, n.3.)

Nevertheless, it is also well settled that “subsection 802.06(2)(b) requires the court to notify parties of its intent to convert a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim to one for summary judgment.” (See CTI of Northeast Wisconsin, LLC v. Herrell (2002) 259 Wis. 2d 756, 760.)