Steven C. Tietsworth, David Bratz, John W. Myers, Gary Streitenberger, and Gary Wegner, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v…

Summary

The Wisconsin Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals and reinstated dismissal of motorcycle owners' common-law fraud and statutory deceptive-trade-practices claims. It held that alleged diminution in value based only on a product line's propensity for future engine failure was too speculative to constitute a cognizable tort injury, and that the economic loss doctrine independently barred the fraud claim. It further held that nondisclosure is not actionable under the deceptive-trade-practices statute and that the affirmative advertising statements alleged were nonactionable puffery. Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson, dissenting, would have allowed both claims to proceed because the complaint adequately alleged fraudulent inducement and actionable misleading advertising.