Woman Suing Waukesha Loses Appeal

A Waukesha woman who was seeking $2,991.42 for the soil testing, gravel, and grading that was conducted to obtain a building permit for her garage lost her claim during a decision filed Wednesday by the state Court of Appeals.

The woman, Linda Kasprzak, had filed the claim with the city but lost in the Waukesha County Circuit Court.

“Kasprzak contends that the circuit court erred in concluding that a City of Waukesha housing inspector had the authority and discretion to stop construction and not to approve the permit for the construction of a detached garage on Kasprzak’s property,” the decision states. “The circuit court held that because the housing inspector’s decision was discretionary, governmental immunity applied and the city could not be held liable.”

The decision states that the housing inspector withheld the building permit because the soil appeared to be unable to meet the standards in the city’s municipal code. Kasprzak disagreed, ordered an independent test, which also failed. The building permit was given after Kasprzak removed and replaced the soil, according to the decision.

The appeal, the decision states, was based  on the woman’s claim “arguing that the Waukesha municipal code does not require detached residential garages to meet the same soil standards that apply to other structures, and that the housing inspector thus did not have the authority to withhold her construction project and order her to conduct soil tests and improvements.”

The Court of Appeals decision states that the woman’s inability to show that the structure could have been supported by the soil shows the housing inspector was reasonable when withholding the permit.