(1) Sections 806.30 to 806.44 apply only to a foreign-money claim in an action or distribution proceeding.
806.31.Scope.
Ch. 806: Judgment · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 806.31 limits Wisconsin’s foreign-money-claims statutes to foreign-money claims raised in an action or distribution proceeding, and applies them to foreign-money issues even when a different jurisdiction’s law governs the case’s other issues under conflict-of-laws rules.
Full Text of Section 806.31
(2) Sections 806.30 to 806.44 apply to foreign-money issues notwithstanding the law applicable under the conflict of laws rules of this state to other issues in the action or distribution proceeding.
Plain-English Summary
Section 806.31 fixes the boundaries of sections 806.30 to 806.44. Those sections apply only to a foreign-money claim in an action or a distribution proceeding, meaning they are not a general currency statute reaching every context where foreign money happens to come up; the claim must be part of a qualifying action or distribution proceeding as those terms are defined in the preceding section.
Within that boundary, the statutes control regardless of what law would otherwise govern. Sections 806.30 to 806.44 apply to foreign-money issues notwithstanding the law applicable, under this state’s conflict of laws rules, to the other issues in the action or distribution proceeding. A case can proceed under another jurisdiction’s substantive law for most issues while Wisconsin’s foreign-money rules still govern the currency-conversion mechanics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do sections 806.30 to 806.44 apply to every dispute involving foreign currency?
No. Section 806.31 limits them to a foreign-money claim in an action or a distribution proceeding, as those terms are defined in the definitions section.
If another jurisdiction’s law governs my contract, does that jurisdiction’s currency rules control instead of Wisconsin’s?
No. Section 806.31 applies these sections to foreign-money issues notwithstanding the law otherwise applicable, under Wisconsin’s conflict of laws rules, to the case’s other issues.
What kinds of proceedings does this scope provision cover?
An action, meaning a judicial proceeding or arbitration, or a distribution proceeding, as both terms are defined in the section preceding this one.
Does this section create the foreign-money claims framework, or just define its reach?
It defines the reach. It states where sections 806.30 to 806.44 apply, while the surrounding sections build out the substantive framework itself.
Can conflict-of-laws principles ever displace these sections on currency issues?
No. Section 806.31 states that these sections apply to foreign-money issues notwithstanding the law otherwise applicable under conflict of laws rules.
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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