Rutter v. Copper

¶ 1. This appeal concerns the proper application of Wis. Stat. § 885.16 (2009-10),1 commonly referred to as the "dead man's statute." The Towers2 appeal a circuit court judgment declaring that Gary D. Rutter and Jeanne M. Rutter possess a prescriptive easement on the Tower property. The Towers assert that the circuit court erred in its application of § 885.16. Specifically, the Towers argue that the proper application of § 885.16 renders Beulah Tower competent to testify that she gave the Rutters' predecessor-in-interest, Láveme Hutson, permission to use a land corridor on the Tower property…