Isaacs Holding Corp. v. Premiere Property Group

1. This case involves a dispute over which party's interest in 113 acres of land (the Property) located in the Town of Ottawa, Waukesha County is the superior interest. Daniel P. Gaugert and Gayle J. Gaugert appeal a circuit court decision to deny their motion for entry of judgment for specific performance granting them right of first refusal to the Property pursuant to their affidavit of interest in real estate for right of first refusal recorded on March 9, 1995. The Gaugerts argue that Premiere Property Group, LLC, and Premiere's registered agent, Jeffrey J. Hansen, and Kelly J. and Jill M. Hansen (the Hansens), had actual knowledge of the Gaugerts' prior interest in the Property. Thus, they contend that the circuit court's ruling with respect to Premiere and the Hansens is contrary to the mandate given by the supreme court in Gaugert v. Duve, 2001 WI 83, 244 Wis. 2d 691, 628 N.W.2d 861 (hereinafter, Gaugert III), which stands for the rule that a prior interest holder defeats a pendente lite interest1 holder who had actual knowledge of the prior interest. 2. The Gaugerts also submit that Isaacs Holding Corp. (Isaacs), to which Premiere conveyed an interest in the Property as mortgagee, is barred by the principle of res judicata (hereinafter, claim preclusion) from challenging the prior ruling ordering specific performance in favor of the Gaugerts. The Gaugerts argue that the ""chain of title"" is not confined to the tract index and that although there was an error in the legal description of the property, it was an ""obvious"" error and is therefore not fatal to constructive notice.