Town of Pleasant Prairie v. Johnson

The problem posed by this appeal is a narrow one: We must decide whether the director’s rejection of the town’s proposal to incorporate as a village is either “unsupported by substantial evidence” or “arbitrary or capricious,” which are standards set by the legislature in sec. 227.20 (1), Stats., to guide courts in reviewing appeals from the director’s findings. The issues are primarily factual. Indeed, the appellants’ brief does not cite a single case or other authority except the statutes and Black’s Law Dictionary.

In Scharping v. Johnson (1966), 32 Wis. (2d) 383, 145 N. W. (2d) 691, we…