Wisconsin Law: Only Repossessor’s Action Causes Breach Of Peace

By a vote of 5 to 4, the Wisconsin legislature has passed Assembly Bill 669 (2019) limiting only the actions of the repossessor as the cause of a breach of the peace. It reads:

The bill specifies that the creditor or its authorized
repossessor may not commit a breach of the peace and that the conduct or activities
of the customer, debtor, or lessee, or any bystander, may not be considered in
determining whether a breach of the peace has occurred.

It goes further in releasing liability on the repossessor, if the creditor makes a wrongful error in assigning account for repossession:

The bill also creates an additional limit on liability against an independent contractor, or its employee, hired to repossess a vehicle by a creditor that lacks authority to repossess the vehicle. Under the bill, no criminal or civil liability for wrongful repossession may be imposed against the independent contractor or its employee on the basis that the creditor was not authorized to repossess the vehicle if 1) the creditor represented to the independent contractor or its employee, or the independent contractor or its employee had a reasonable belief, that the creditor was authorized to repossess the vehicle; and 2) in repossessing the vehicle, the independent contractor or its employee complies with all applicable requirements.

Read the bill in full below.