(1) CAPACITY. It is not necessary to aver the capacity of a party to sue or be sued or the authority of a party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity or the legal existence of an organized association of persons that is made a party. If a party desires to raise an issue as to the legal existence of any party or the capacity of any party to sue or be sued or the authority of a party to sue or be sued in a representative capacity, the party shall do so by specific negative averment which shall include such supporting particulars as are peculiarly within the pleader’s knowledge, or by motion under s. 802.06 (2).
802.03.Pleading special matters.
Ch. 802: Pleadings, Motions and Pretrial Practice · Last amended 2009 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 802.03 tells Wisconsin pleaders how to handle recurring pleading problems -- capacity, fraud and mistake, conditions precedent, official acts and judgments, libel, itemized commercial claims, time and place, and foreclosure defendants -- by shortening what must be alleged and sharpening what must be denied.
Full Text of Section 802.03
(2) FRAUD, MISTAKE AND CONDITION OF MIND. In all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity. Malice, intent, knowledge, and other condition of mind of a person may be averred generally.
(3) CONDITIONS PRECEDENT. In pleading the performance or occurrence of conditions precedent in a contract, it shall not be necessary to state the facts showing such performance or occurrence, but it may be stated generally that the party duly performed all the conditions on his or her part or that the conditions have otherwise occurred or both. A denial of performance or occurrence shall be made specifically and with particularity. If the averment of performance or occurrence is controverted, the party pleading performance or occurrence shall be bound to establish on the trial the facts showing such performance or occurrence.
(4) OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OR ACT. In pleading an official document or official act it is sufficient to aver that the document was issued or the act done in compliance with the law.
(5) JUDGMENT. In pleading a judgment or decision of a domestic or foreign court, judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or of a board or officer, it is sufficient to aver the judgment or decision without setting forth matter showing jurisdiction to render it.
(6) LIBEL OR SLANDER. In an action for libel or slander, the particular words complained of shall be set forth in the complaint, but their publication and their application to the plaintiff may be stated generally.
(7) SALES OF GOODS, ETC. In an action involving the sale and delivery of goods or the performing of labor or services, or the furnishing of materials, the plaintiff may set forth and number in the complaint the items of the plaintiff’s claim and the reasonable value or agreed price of each. The defendant by the answer shall indicate specifically those items defendant disputes and whether in respect to delivery or performance, reasonable value or agreed price. If the plaintiff does not so plead the items of the claim, the plaintiff shall deliver to the defendant, within 10 days after service of a demand therefor in writing, a statement of the items of the plaintiff’s claim and the reasonable value or agreed price of each.
(8) TIME AND PLACE. For the purpose of testing the sufficiency of a pleading, averments of time and place are material and shall be considered like all other averments of material matter.
(9) FORECLOSURE. In an action for foreclosure of real property, the complaint may not name a tenant of residential real property as a defendant unless the tenant has a lien or ownership interest in the real property.
Plain-English Summary
Section 802.03 starts with capacity: a pleader does not need to allege its own capacity to sue or be sued, its authority to sue or be sued in a representative capacity, or the legal existence of an organized association named as a party. A party that wants to contest any of that must do so through a specific negative averment with supporting particulars, or by motion under section 802.06(2).
Fraud or mistake must be pleaded with particularity as to the circumstances involved, though malice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of mind can be averred generally. Conditions precedent in a contract can be pleaded generally as duly performed or occurred, but a denial of that averment must be specific and particular, and if performance is controverted, the pleading party must prove it at trial. Official documents and acts can be pleaded by averring compliance with the law, and a prior judgment or decision can be pleaded by averring it without detailing the jurisdiction behind it.
In a libel or slander action, the complaint must set out the particular words complained of, though their publication and their application to the plaintiff can be stated generally. In a case about the sale and delivery of goods, labor, or materials, the plaintiff may itemize the claim and its value or price, with the defendant required to specify which items it disputes and why; if the plaintiff skips itemizing, it must supply a statement of the claim’s items within 10 days of a written demand. Averments of time and place count as material averments for testing a pleading’s sufficiency like any other. And a foreclosure complaint may not name a residential tenant as a defendant unless that tenant holds a lien or ownership interest in the property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to plead facts proving I have legal capacity to sue in Wisconsin?
No. Section 802.03(1) says it is not necessary to aver capacity, authority to sue in a representative capacity, or the legal existence of an association; an opponent must raise that issue through a specific negative averment or by motion under section 802.06(2).
How specifically must I plead fraud in a Wisconsin complaint?
The circumstances constituting the fraud or mistake must be stated with particularity, though malice, intent, knowledge, and other conditions of mind may be averred generally.
Can I just say I performed all the conditions of a contract without detailing how?
Yes, generally. But a denial of that averment must be specific and particular, and if performance is contested, the pleading party must still prove it at trial.
What words do I have to include in a libel or slander complaint?
The particular words complained of must be set forth; their publication and application to the plaintiff may be stated generally.
Can a foreclosure complaint name a residential tenant as a defendant?
Only if the tenant has a lien or ownership interest in the property being foreclosed.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 619 (1975); 1975 c. 218; 2009 a. 28.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: pleading fraud with particularity wisconsinpleading capacity to sue wisconsinconditions precedent pleading wisconsinlibel complaint requirements wisconsinforeclosure complaint tenant defendant wisconsin