801.01.Kinds of proceedings; scope of chs. 801 to 847.

Section 801.01 is the front door to chapters 801 through 847. It starts by sorting every court proceeding into one of two buckets: actions and special proceedings. That distinction sounds technical, but the section immediately narrows its practical bite by saying that wherever the chapters use the word “action,” it also covers a special proceeding, unless a specific rule for special proceedings says otherwise. A litigant reading the rest of chapter 801 doesn’t need to constantly ask which bucket their case falls into — the default answer is that the same rules apply either way.

The section then states how broadly these chapters reach. They govern procedure and practice in Wisconsin circuit courts for every civil action and special proceeding, whether the underlying claim would historically have been heard as a case at law, in equity, or under a statute — except where a different statute or rule specifically prescribes its own procedure. And it sets the goal that should guide how courts and parties use these chapters: reaching a determination of each case that is just, speedy, and inexpensive. That instruction isn’t decoration. It tells judges how to resolve close calls about how a rule should apply.

Finally, the section fixes the calendar. Chapters 801 through 803 apply to actions commenced on or after January 1, 1976. Chapters 804 through 807 reach further back, applying to actions pending on that date too, with one carve-out: if trial had already started before January 1, 1976, the older rules keep governing that trial. The section also explains how amendments made outside chapters 801 through 807, done to conform to these chapters, phase in on the same schedule.