In ss. 806.30 to 806.44:
806.30.Definitions.
Ch. 806: Judgment · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 806.30 defines the key terms, including action, foreign money, foreign-money claim, conversion date, and spot rate, used throughout Wisconsin’s foreign-money-claims statutes, sections 806.30 to 806.44.
Full Text of Section 806.30
(1) “Action” means a judicial proceeding or arbitration in which a money payment may be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign-money claim. (1m) “Bank-offered spot rate” means the rate of exchange at which a bank will issue its draft in a foreign money or will cause credit to become available in a foreign money on a next-day basis.
(2) “Conversion date” means the banking day before the date that money is used, under ss. 806.30 to 806.44, for one of the following:
(a) To pay a judgment creditor.
(b) To pay the designated official enforcing a judgment on behalf of the judgment creditor.
(c) To effect a recoupment or setoff of claims in different moneys in an action.
(3) “Distribution proceeding” means a judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, a liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity or a distribution of an estate, trust or other fund in which or against which a foreign-money claim is asserted.
(4) “Foreign money” means money other than money authorized or adopted by the United States of America.
(5) “Foreign-money claim” means a claim upon an obligation to pay or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money.
(6) “Money” means a medium of exchange for the payment of obligations or a store of value authorized or adopted by a government or by intergovernmental agreement. (8) “Party” means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, partnership, or association of 2 or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity asserting or defending against a foreign-money claim. (9) “Rate of exchange” means the rate at which the money of one country may be converted into money of another country in a free financial market convenient to or reasonably usable by the party obliged to pay or to state a rate of conversion. If separate rates of exchange apply to different kinds of transactions or events, the term means the rate applicable to the particular transaction or event giving rise to the foreign-money claim. (10) “Spot rate” means the rate of exchange at which foreign money is sold by a bank or other dealer in foreign exchange for settlement by immediate payment, by charge to an account, or by an agreed delayed settlement not exceeding 2 days. (11) “State” means a state, territory or possession of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or the United States Virgin Islands.
Plain-English Summary
Section 806.30 supplies the vocabulary for the group of statutes running from this section through 806.44. At the center is a “foreign-money claim,” defined as a claim on an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, that is expressed in or measured by “foreign money,” meaning any money other than money authorized or adopted by the United States.
Several terms fix the exchange-rate mechanics. The “conversion date” is the banking day before the money is used to pay a judgment creditor, to pay the official enforcing a judgment on the creditor’s behalf, or to carry out a recoupment or setoff of claims stated in different moneys. “Spot rate” is the rate at which a bank or other dealer sells foreign money for settlement by immediate payment, account charge, or an agreed delayed settlement of no more than two days, while “bank-offered spot rate” is the rate at which a bank will issue its own draft in a foreign money or make credit available in that money on a next-day basis. “Rate of exchange” is the rate at which one country’s money converts into another’s in a free financial market reasonably usable by the party who must pay or state a conversion rate, and if different rates apply to different kinds of transactions, the rate tied to the specific transaction or event controls.
Other definitions round out the framework’s procedural and party-related concepts. An “action” means a judicial proceeding or an arbitration in which a money payment on a foreign-money claim may be awarded or enforced. A “distribution proceeding” covers an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, a corporate liquidation or rehabilitation, or a distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund in which a foreign-money claim is asserted or defended against. “Party” is defined broadly to include individuals, governments, businesses, and associations of two or more people with a joint or common interest, and “state” covers the states, territories, and possessions of the United States, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a “foreign-money claim” under Wisconsin law?
A claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money, meaning money other than money authorized or adopted by the United States.
What counts as “money” for purposes of these statutes?
A medium of exchange for the payment of obligations, or a store of value, authorized or adopted by a government or by intergovernmental agreement.
What is the “conversion date” and why does it matter?
It is the banking day before the money is used to pay the judgment creditor, pay the official enforcing the judgment on the creditor’s behalf, or effect a recoupment or setoff of claims in different moneys, and it is the date used to fix the applicable rate of exchange for that payment.
Does this definitions section cover arbitration, or just court cases?
Both. Section 806.30 defines “action” to mean a judicial proceeding or an arbitration in which a money payment may be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign-money claim.
What kinds of proceedings count as a “distribution proceeding”?
A judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, a liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, or a distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund in which a foreign-money claim is asserted or is asserted against.
Amendment History
History: 1991 a. 236.
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
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