Truman Doctrine Summary

Appeals Court backs Cameron ruling in real estate lawsuit

The Third District of Appeals on Wausau on Tuesday upheld Chippewa County Judge Roderick Cameron's ruling in a real estate case.

Lynn M. Rowan sued Truman J. Bourget, Miriam R. Bourget and Lyle A. Goettl over a 2002 real estate sale. Cameron ruled in favor of the defendants in the suit.

Here is the Appeals Court ruling:

DISTRICT III

Lynn M. Rowan,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

Truman J. Bourget, Miriam R. Bourget and Lyle A. Goettl,

Defendants-Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the circuit court for Chippewa County: RODERICK A. CAMERON, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Hoover, P.J., Peterson and Brunner, JJ.

¶1 PER CURIAM. Lynn Rowan appeals a summary judgment dismissing her claims related to a residential real estate transaction. Rowan claims the circuit court erred by concluding the economic loss doctrine barred her misrepresentation claims. We affirm.

¶2 Rowan purchased the property at issue from Truman Bourget and Lyle Goettl on July 22, 2002. A real estate condition report stated that the sellers were unaware of any material defects in the property. In January 2008, Rowan was informed by a neighbor of extensive structural damage to the property. The neighbor further informed her that Bourget and Goettl were aware of the damage prior to their purchase of the property. A subsequent inspection indicated a failing house foundation. Rowan also determined that Bourget and Goettl had received a real estate condition report prior to their purchase of the property which disclosed structural defects.[1]

¶3 Rowan commenced a lawsuit on October 19, 2009. The lawsuit alleged claims for breach of contract, as well as intentional, negligent and strict responsibility misrepresentation. The defendants sought summary judgment, claiming the breach of contract claim was barred by the applicable six-year statute of limitations and the tort claims were barred by the economic loss doctrine. Rowan conceded at the summary judgment hearing that her contract claim was barred by the statute of limitations. The circuit court granted summary judgment on the contract and misrepresentation claims, and Rowan now appeals.[2]

¶4 We review the circuit court's grant of summary judgment using the same methodology as the circuit court. City of Beaver Dam v. Cromheecke, 222 Wis. 2d 608, 613, 587 N.W.2d 923 (Ct. App. 1998). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Wis. Stat. § 802.08(2).

Hot Wars Cold Wars: Notes on the Truman doctrine

The Truman Doctrine grew out of George Kennan’s 1946 ‘long telegram’ which argued that the US should follow a policy of ‘containment’ to stop Russian expansion.    Then, in February 1947, the British announced that they were withdrawing their soldiers from Greece.   On 12 March 1947, Truman warned Congress that, without help, Greece would fall to Communism – and that Turkey and other countries would follow.   He said that the Cold War was a choice between freedom and oppression and that Americans were OBLIGED to ‘to support free peoples’ and to abandon their decision not to get involved in European affairs. However, Truman’s speech did not mention ‘containment’, and most of the $338 million he sent to Greece went on dive bombers and napalm bombs.   In fact, many people in the Truman administration wanted actively to oppose Russia, and Truman said that: ‘ We hope that in years ahead more and more nations will come to know the advantages of freedom and liberty. ’   It arguable that the Truman Doctrine was not just a policy of ‘containment’ but was ‘an American challenge to Soviet ambitions’ The Truman Doctrine was beginning to be formulated in 1946, when George Kennan, US ambassador in Moscow, wrote a ‘long telegram’ claiming that Soviet power was growing, and that the US should follow a policy of ‘containment’ to stop Russian ‘salami tactics’.   In September 1946, Clark Clifford, Truman’s most trusted adviser, recommended that America ‘support and assist all democratic countries which are in any way menaced by the USSR’.  Then, in February 1947, the British government announced that it could no longer afford to keep its soldiers fighting Communist rebels in Greece.   So, on 12 March 1947, President Truman warned Congress that, without help, Greece would fall to Communism.   Nearby Turkey, he added, was in a similar situation.   He introduced an idea that if America let one country fall to Communism, all the countries round about would follow (this was later called the ‘domino theory’).   Truman said that the Cold War was a choice between freedom and oppression.

Proclaiming the Truman Doctrine, the Cold War call to arms

A Preponderance of Power, National Security, the Truman Administration, and the Cold War

Soviet-American Confrontation, Postwar Reconstruction and the Origins of the Cold War

"A new kind of war", America's global strategy and the Truman Doctrine in Greece

The American Pageant, Volume 2: Since 1865