Wisconsin procedural guides

Plain-English guides to the Wisconsin Rules of Civil Procedure (Chs. 801-847), each one tied to the rules it relies on. Every rule named in a guide has its own page with the official text.

• Responding to a Wisconsin summons: 20 days, or 45 in a tort caseWisconsin § 802.06(1) gives a defendant 20 days after service of the complaint to serve an answer — but 45 days where the defendant is an insurer or any cause of action is founded in tort.
• Wisconsin earnings garnishment: 80% is exempt, and answering stops itWisconsin exempts 80% of a debtor's disposable earnings from garnishment, and totally exempts them below the poverty line — and the garnishee must treat a debtor's answered exemption as true.
• Commencing a Wisconsin lawsuit: file first, then serve within 90 daysWisconsin commences a civil action by filing the summons and complaint together — but commencement holds only if an authenticated copy is served within 90 days of filing.
• Wisconsin small claims: the return date is the deadline, and the limit rises in 2027Wisconsin small claims actions run on a return date rather than a paper deadline — and the money limit for ordinary civil actions rises from $10,000 to $15,000 on 1 January 2027.
• Setting aside a Wisconsin judgment: eight grounds, and only two carry the one-year capWis. Stat. § 806.07 lists eight grounds for relief from a judgment — mistake and fraud expire at one year, but a void judgment and the catch-all do not.
• The Wisconsin motion to dismiss: ten defenses, and a 180-day discovery stayWis. Stat. § 802.06(2) lists ten defenses that may be raised by motion — and filing one to dismiss for failure to state a claim stays all discovery for up to 180 days.
• Opposing summary judgment in Wisconsin: five days, and you cannot rest on the pleadingsWisconsin gives an opposing party just five days before the hearing to serve affidavits under Wis. Stat. § 802.08(2) — and an adverse party who does not respond faces judgment.
• Compelling discovery in Wisconsin: fees follow the result — and can land on the attorneyWis. Stat. § 804.12 shifts the costs of a motion to compel to whoever loses it, and unusually allows the award to be made against the attorney who advised the conduct or the motion.
• Wisconsin's offer of settlement: double costs and prime-plus-one interest — but not attorney's feesWis. Stat. 807.01 gives both sides an offer device 20 days before trial. A plaintiff who beats its own offer recovers double taxable costs; either party who does recovers interest at prime plus 1% from the date of the offer until payment.
• Wisconsin injunctions: the judge may telephone the other side before signingWisconsin lets a court telephone the party to be restrained before granting a temporary injunction, voids orders issued in the wrong circuit, and gives the enjoined party an offer procedure for assessing damages.

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