COA reverses circuit court’s order denying transcript fee waiver
Village of Hales Corners v. Aman D. Singh, 2024AP2055 & 2024AP2056, 5/12/26, District I (ineligible for publication); case activity
The COA reversed the circuit court’s order denying the defendant’s request to waive the transcript fee for his appeals.
Aman Singh is appealing the circuit court’s orders denying his motion to reopen default judgments in municipal court. The circuit court also denied his motion to waive the transcript fee for his appeals because Singh did not appear at a hearing in the circuit court, which resulted in dismissing his municipal appeals, and the court determined it was authorized to deny relief when a party fails to appear at a hearing. (¶ 5).
The COA considered Wis. Stat. § 814.29(1)(c), which allows a circuit court to deny an indigent person’s request to waive fees if the court finds the person states no claim, defense, or appeal upon which relief may be granted. A proposed action fails to state a claim for purposes of the statute “if the facts set forth in the action fail to reveal an apparent right to recovery under any legal theory.” (¶ 8).
The COA concluded Singh meets this “very low bar” because he alleged that he did not receive notice of the circuit court hearing and was not warned that failing to appear at the hearing could result in dismissing his municipal appeals. (¶ 10). The COA remarked that the circuit court denied the transcript fee waiver motion because it did not find credible Singh’s claim that he did not receive notice of the hearing. However, “the standard at this stage does not permit the circuit court to make or apply this credibility determination in resolving Singh’s entitlement to a transcript fee waiver. Rather, the circuit court (and we) are required to accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations in Singh’s motion for reconsideration.” (¶ 11).
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