801.12 History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 W (2d) 585, 606 (1975);
1975 c. 218.
801.13
801.13
Summons; when deemed served. A summons is deemed served as follows:
801.13(1)
(1) A summons served personally upon the defendant or by substituted personal service upon another authorized to accept service of the summons for the defendant is deemed served on the day of service.
801.13(2)
(2) A summons served by publication is deemed served on the first day of required publication.
801.13 History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 W (2d) 585, 607 (1975).
801.14
801.14
Service and filing of pleadings and other papers. 801.14(1)(1) Every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper relating to discovery required to be served upon a party unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment, undertaking, and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties. No service need be made on parties in default for failure to appear except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims for relief against them shall be served upon them in the manner provided for service of summons in
s. 801.11.
801.14(2)
(2) Whenever under these statutes, service of pleadings and other papers is required or permitted to be made upon a party represented by an attorney, the service shall be made upon the attorney unless service upon the party in person is ordered by the court. Service upon the attorney or upon a party shall be made by delivering a copy or by mailing it to the last-known address, or, if no address is known, by leaving it with the clerk of the court. Delivery of a copy within this section means: handing it to the attorney or to the party; transmitting a copy of the paper by facsimile machine to his or her office; or leaving it at his or her office with a clerk or other person in charge thereof; or, if there is no one in charge, leaving it in a conspicuous place therein; or, if the office is closed or the person to be served has no office, leaving it at his or her dwelling house or usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein. Service by mail is complete upon mailing. Service by facsimile is complete upon transmission. The first sentence of this subsection shall not apply to service of a summons or of any process of court or of any paper to bring a party into contempt of court.
801.14(3)
(3) In any action in which there are unusually large numbers of defendants, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative, may order that service of the pleadings of the defendants and replies thereto need not be made as between the defendants and that any cross-claim, counterclaim, or matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense contained therein shall be deemed to be denied or avoided by all other parties and that the filing of any such pleading and service thereof upon the plaintiff constitutes due notice of it to the parties. A copy of every such order shall be served upon the parties in such manner and form as the court directs.
801.14(4)
(4) All papers after the summons required to be served upon a party, except as provided in
s. 804.01 (6), shall be filed with the court within a reasonable time after service. The filing of any paper required to be served constitutes a certification by the party or attorney effecting the filing that a copy of such paper has been timely served on all parties required to be served, except as the person effecting the filing may otherwise stipulate in writing.
801.14 History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 W (2d) 585, 607 (1975);
1975 c. 218; Sup. Ct. Order, 130 W (2d) xix (1986); Sup. Ct. Order, 161 W (2d) xvii (1991).
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1986: Sub. (4) is amended by insertion of a cross-reference to s. 804.01 (6), providing that discovery documents need not be filed with the court unless the court so orders. [Re Order eff. 7-1-86]
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1991: Sub. (2) is amended to clarify that facsimile transmission can be used to serve pleadings and other papers. Such service is deemed complete upon transmission. The change is not intended to expand the permissible means of serving a summons or writ conferring court jurisdiction under s. 799.12 and ch. 801, stats. [Re Order eff. 7-1-91]
801.14 Annotation
Once an action has been commenced, service of the summons and complaint has been made on the defendant and an attorney has appeared on behalf of the defendant, an amended complaint may be served on the defendant's attorney. Bell v. Employers Mutual Casualty Co. 198 W (2d) 347, 541 NW (2d) 824 (Ct. App. 1995).
801.14 Annotation
A motion to dismiss with prejudice cannot be heard ex parte and should be granted only on finding egregious conduct or bad faith. Failure to obtain personal service with due diligence does not amount to egregious conduct or bad faith. Haselow v. Gauthier, 212 W (2d) 580, 569 NW (2d) 97 (Ct. App. 1997).
801.145(1)(1) Except for exhibits and wills, the size of all papers filed in court shall be no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.
801.145(2)
(2) The clerk of circuit court or register in probate shall return any paper not in conformity with
sub. (1) to the person or party attempting to file it.
801.145 History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 120 W (2d) xv (1984).
801.15(1)(a)(a) In this subsection, "holiday" means any day which is a holiday provided in
s. 230.35 (4) (a) or a statewide legal holiday provided in
s. 895.20 or both, and a full day on Good Friday.
801.15(1)(b)
(b) Notwithstanding
ss. 985.09 and
990.001 (4), in computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by
chs. 801 to
847, by any other statute governing actions and special proceedings, or by order of court, the day of the act, event or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a day the clerk of courts office is closed. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 11 days, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays shall be excluded in the computation.
801.15(2)(a)(a) When an act is required to be done at or within a specified time, the court may order the period enlarged but only on motion for cause shown and upon just terms. The 90 day period under
s. 801.02 may not be enlarged. If the motion is made after the expiration of the specified time, it shall not be granted unless the court finds that the failure to act was the result of excusable neglect. The order of enlargement shall recite by its terms or by reference to an affidavit in the record the grounds for granting the motion.
801.15(2)(b)
(b) The time within which a motion challenging the sufficiency of the evidence or for a new trial must be decided shall not be enlarged except for good cause. The order of extension must be made prior to the expiration of the initial decision period.
801.15(2)(c)
(c) The time for initiating an appeal under
s. 808.04, for deciding motions after verdict under
s. 805.16 (3), and for making motions for reconsideration under
s. 805.17 (3) or for relief from judgment or order under
s. 48.46 (2) or
806.07 may not be enlarged.
801.15(4)
(4) A written motion, other than one which may be heard ex parte, and notice of the hearing thereof shall be served not later than 5 days before the time specified for the hearing, unless a different period is fixed by statute or by order of the court. Such an order may for cause shown be made on ex parte motion. When a motion is supported by affidavit, the affidavit shall be served with the motion; and opposing affidavits may be served not later than one day before the hearing, unless the court permits them to be served at some other time. All written motions shall be heard on notice unless a statute or rule permits the motion to be heard ex parte.
801.15(5)
(5) Whenever a party has the right or is required to do some act or take some proceedings within a prescribed period after the service of a notice or other paper upon the party:
801.15(5)(a)
(a) If the notice or paper is served by mail, 3 days shall be added to the prescribed period.
801.15(5)(b)
(b) If the notice or paper is served by facsimile transmission and such transmission is completed between 5 p.m. and midnight, 1 day shall be added to the prescribed period.
Effective date note
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 W (2d) 585, 610 (1975);
1975 c. 218; Sup. Ct. Order, 73 W (2d) xxxi (1976);
1977 c. 187 s.
135;
1977 c. 449;
1979 c. 89;
1983 a. 192 s.
304;
1985 a. 145; Sup Ct. Order, 130 W (2d) xi (1986);
1985 a. 332; Sup. Ct. Order, 136 W (2d) xxv (1987); Sup. Ct. Order, 146 W (2d) xxxiii (1988); Sup. Ct. Order, 160 W (2d) xiv (1991); Sup. Ct. Order, 161 W (2d) xvii (1991); Sup. Ct. Order, No. 94-05, filed 4-27-94, eff. 7-1-94;
1997 a. 187.
801.15 Annotation
Cross-references: See s. 32.05 (4) for exception to provision for added time in case of mailing.
801.15 Annotation
Law Revision Committee Note, 1985: [Sub. (1)] Under the current statute, the time period specified by law or by a court relating to a court action or special proceeding is extended if the last day of the time period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. This amendment adds Good Friday, Christmas eve and New Year's eve. The afternoon of Good Friday and the full day on December 24 and 31 are holidays for state employes, and the amendment will permit clerks to close their offices at these times. [85 Act 145]
801.15 Note
Judicial Council Committee's Note, 1976: The procedure under s. 801.15 (2) (a) for enlarging the period in which an act is required to be done under the rules of civil procedure cannot be used to enlarge the 60-day period under s. 801.02. See also s. 802.06 (2) (e) and (8).
801.15 Annotation
Pars. (2) (b) and (c) are independent provisions. The enlargement of time "for good cause" provision in par. (b) does not apply to the time for appeal under s. 817.01, for motion after verdict under s. 805.16, and for relief from judgment under s. 806.07 as such a result would substantially impair the finality of judgments. The word "extended" is replaced by the word "enlarged" in par. (c) to comply with similar language in pars. (2) (a) and (b). [Re Order effective Jan. 1, 1977]
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1986: Sub. (1) is amended by extending from 7 to 11 days the periods from which Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays are excluded. The change conforms to that made in Rule 6 (a), F.R.C.P. in 1985. [Re Order eff. 7-1-86]
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1986: Sub. (2) (c) is amended to clarify that, while the time for deciding motions after verdict may not be enlarged, the time for filing and hearing such motions may be enlarged by the court under revised s. 805.16 (1) and (2). [Re Order eff. 7-1-87]
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1991: The amendment to sub. (2) (c) prohibits the court form extending the time for making reconsideration motions under s. 805.17 (3). [Re Order eff. 7-1-91]
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1991: Sub. (5) (b) is created to allow one extra day to respond to papers served by facsimile transmission after normal business hours. Additional response time may be available under the computation rules of sub. (1) (b) if papers are so served on weekends or holidays. [Re Order eff. 7-1-91]
801.15 Note
Judicial Council Note, 1994 Subsection (1) (b) is amended by excluding the last day of a time period from the computation if the clerk of courts office is closed all day.
801.15 Annotation
Court has no authority to enlarge time in which to file complaint. Pulchinski v. Strnad, 88 W (2d) 423, 276 NW (2d) 781 (1979).
801.15 Annotation
See note to 809.10, citing Boston Old Colony Ins. v. Int'l. Rectifier Corp. 91 W (2d) 813, 284 NW (2d) 93 (1979).
801.15 Annotation
Error based on late service and filing of affidavit was waived by failure to object at hearing. In re Spring Valley Meats, Inc. 94 W (2d) 600, 288 NW (2d) 852 (1980).
801.15 Annotation
See note to 806.06, citing Bruns v. Muniz, 97 W (2d) 742, 295 NW (2d) 112 (Ct. App. 1980).
801.15 Annotation
See note to 108.09, citing Schiller v. DILHR, 103 W (2d) 353, 309 NW (2d) 5 (Ct. App. 1981).
801.15 Annotation
Trial court abused discretion in enlarging time to file answer where answer was served 9 days after deadline. Hedtcke v. Sentry Ins. Co. 109 W (2d) 461, 326 NW (2d) 727 (1982).
801.15 Annotation
Time computation under 32.05 (10) (a) and 32.06 (10) is controlled by 801.15 (1), not 990.001 (4). In Matter of Petition of Elec. Power Co. 110 W (2d) 649, 329 NW (2d) 186 (1983).
801.15 Annotation
Service of answer was timely under terms of courtesy agreement. Oostburg Bank v. United Savings, 130 W (2d) 4, 386 NW (2d) 53 (1986).
801.15 Annotation
See note to 805.16, citing Brookhouse v. State Farm Mut. Ins. 130 W (2d) 166, 387 NW (2d) 82 (Ct. App. 1986).
801.15 Annotation
Trial court lost jurisdiction to decide motions after verdict by consecutively extending time for its decision under (2) (b). Ford Motor Co. v. Lyons, 137 W (2d) 397, 405 NW (2d) 354 (Ct. App. 1987).
801.15 Annotation
Because courtesy agreement was made after default, court didn't abuse discretion by insisting on compliance with (2) (a). Clark County v. B.T.U. Structures, 144 W (2d) 11, 422 NW (2d) 910 (Ct. App. 1988).
801.15 Annotation
Trial court has discretion to allow a jury trial where fees under s. 814.61 (4) were not timely paid. Chitwood v. A. O. Smith Harvestore, 170 W (2d) 622, 489 NW (2d) 697 (Ct. App. 1992).
801.15 Annotation
While clerical error is not always excusable it is not as a matter of law inexcusable neglect. Sentry Insurance v. Royal Insurance Co. 196 W (2d) 907, 539 NW (2d) 911 (Ct. App. 1995).
801.15 Annotation
Trial courts have discretion to shorten the 5 day notice requirement for motions. Schopper v. Gehring, 210 W (2d) 209, 565 NW (2d) 187 (Ct. App. 1997).
801.15 Annotation
Sub. (2) (a) is applicable to excusable neglect by a trial judge. State v. Elliot, 203 W (2d) 95, 551 NW (2d) 850 (Ct. App. 1996).
801.15 Annotation
Excusable neglect is conduct that might have been the act of a reasonably prudent person under the same circumstances. A court must look beyond the cause of the neglect to the interests of justice, considering both the need to afford litigants a day in court and to ensure prompt adjudication. Whether the dilatory party acted in good faith, whether the opposing party was prejudiced and whether prompt remedial action took place are factors to consider. An attorney who relied on an oral courtesy agreement whose terms were not disputed and promptly filed for an extension acted with excusable neglect. Rutan v. Miller, 213 W (2d) 94, 570 NW (2d) 54 (Ct. App. 1997).
801.15 Annotation
Avoiding and obtaining relief from default judgments. Parlee, WBB April, 1985.
801.16(1)(1) The filing of pleadings and other papers with the court as required by these statutes shall be made by filing them with the clerk of circuit court. The judge may require that the person filing the papers provide a copy to the judge.
801.16(2)
(2) For papers that do not require a filing fee:
801.16(2)(a)
(a) A court may adopt a local rule, if it is approved by the chief judge, that requires the use of a plain-paper facsimile machine and permits the filing of those papers by facsimile transmission to the clerk of circuit court.
801.16(2)(b)
(b) If no rule has been adopted under
par. (a), a judge may permit a party or attorney in a specific matter to file those papers with the clerk of circuit court by facsimile transmission to a plain-paper facsimile machine.
801.16(2)(c)
(c) The party or attorney, by filing papers by facsimile transmission, certifies that permission of the judge or court for filing by facsimile transmission has been granted. Papers filed by facsimile transmission are considered filed when transmitted except that papers filed by facsimile transmission completed after regular business hours of the clerk of court's office are considered filed the next business day.
Effective date note
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 161 W (2d) xvii (1991); Sup. Ct. Order No.
94-11, filed 10-25-94, eff. 1-1-95.
Effective date note
Judicial Council Note, 1991: Sub. (2) clarifies that papers (other than those requiring a filing fee) may be filed by facsimile transmission to the judge or clerk, if a local court rule, or the judge in a specific matter, so permits. [Re Order eff. 7-1-91.]
801.16 Annotation
A notice of appeal may not be filed by facsimile transmission. Only papers that do not require a filing fee may be filed by fax. Pratsch v. Pratsch, 201 W (2d) 491, 548 NW (2d) 852 (Ct. App. 1996).
801.50
801.50
Venue in civil actions or special proceedings. 801.50(1)(1) A defect in venue shall not affect the validity of any order or judgment.
801.50(2)
(2) Except as otherwise provided by statute, venue in civil actions or special proceedings shall be as follows:
801.50(2)(b)
(b) In the county where the real or tangible personal property, or some part thereof, which is the subject of the claim, is situated;
801.50(2)(c)
(c) In the county where a defendant resides or does substantial business; or
801.50(2)(d)
(d) If the provisions under
par. (a) to
(c) do not apply, then venue shall be in any county designated by the plaintiff.
801.50(3)
(3) All actions in which the sole defendant is the state, any state board or commission or any state officer, employe or agent in an official capacity shall be venued in Dane county unless another venue is specifically authorized by law.
801.50(4)
(4) Venue of an action seeking a remedy available by habeas corpus shall be in the county:
801.50(4)(a)
(a) Where the plaintiff was convicted or sentenced if the action seeks relief from a judgment of conviction or sentence under which the plaintiff's liberty is restrained.
801.50(4)(b)
(b) Where the liberty of the plaintiff is restrained if the action seeks relief concerning any other matter relating to a restraint on the liberty of the plaintiff.
801.50(5)
(5) Venue of an action to review a probation, extended supervision or parole revocation or a refusal of parole by certiorari shall be the county in which the relator was last convicted of an offense for which the relator was on probation, extended supervision or parole or for which the relator is currently incarcerated.
801.50(5p)
(5p) Venue of an environmental pollution action brought by a person who is not a resident of this state against a commission created under
s. 66.882 shall be in the county which contains the 1st class city that is located wholly or partially within the applicable district created under
s. 66.882.
801.50(5r)
(5r) Venue of an action under
s. 813.12 growing out of domestic abuse shall be in the county in which the cause of action arose, where the petitioner or the respondent resides or where the petitioner is temporarily living.
801.50(5s)
(5s) Venue of an action under
s. 813.122 or
813.125 shall be in the county in which the cause of action arose or where the petitioner or the respondent resides.
801.50 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See s.
813.02 (4) for exception to sub. (1) as to venue.
801.50 Note
Judicial Council Note, 1983: Sub. (1) is designed to separate questions of venue from questions of jurisdiction and competency. A defect in venue is not jurisdictional and does not affect the competence of the court. The cure for a defect in venue is to change the place of trial.
801.50 Annotation
Sub. (2) liberalizes the present venue statute by providing the plaintiff with a broader range of initial venue choices. This subsection also deletes many of the archaic distinctions in the former statute.
801.50 Annotation
The following list contains many, but not all, of the specialized venue provisions not found in chapter 801: s. 48.185 (children's code proceedings); s. 48.83 (adoption of minors); s. 51.45 (13) (n) (civil mental commitments); s. 767.65 (11) Revised (proceedings under the uniform reciprocal enforcement of support act); s. 77.12 (forest croplands tax act); s. 111.60 (Wisconsin employment relations act); s. 144.73 (4) [now s. 291.95 (4)] (hazardous waste act); s. 185.44 (1) (cooperative contracts); s. 195.07 (railroad regulation act); s. 196.44 (3) (public utilities regulation act); s. 198.12 (2) (municipal power and water district act); s. 215.02 (5) (savings and loan association act); s. 227.16 (1) (administrative procedure act); s. 232.38 (solid waste recycling authority act); s. 234.22 (housing finance authority act); s. 345.31 (motor vehicle act); s. 421.401 (Wisconsin consumer act); s. 645.04 (1) (insurers rehabilitation and liquidation act); [s. 655.19 (health care liability and patients compensation)]; s. 701.14 (4) (living trusts); s. 752.21 (court of appeals); s. 753.065 (naturalization proceedings); s. 757.89 (Wisconsin judicial commission); s. 776.13 (annulment of corporate charters); s. 779.20 (log liens); s. 799.11 (small claims actions); s. 800.15 (municipal court appeals); s. 880.05 (guardianship actions); s. 882.03 (adult adoptions); s. 971.19 (criminal proceedings); s. 979.01 (inquests of the dead); s. 23.90 (conservation act); s. 45.50 (3) (soldiers and sailors civil relief); and s. 753.34 (5) (Menominee and Shawano counties).
