Ch. 810: Replevin · Last amended 1995 · Last verified July 15, 2026
Section 810.13 tells the factfinder exactly what to decide in a replevin case. Subsection (1) lists four required findings: whether the plaintiff is entitled to possession of the property, whether the defendant unlawfully took or detained it, the property’s value, and the damages the successful party sustained from any unlawful taking or unjust detention up to the time of trial.
These four findings are not optional extras — they are what the verdict in a replevin case consists of. Together they cover both the right to the property and the money consequences of getting that right wrong: who should have had it, whether the other side acted unlawfully, what it was worth, and what the winner lost while it was in the wrong hands.
Subsection (2) then connects the verdict to the outcome: judgment is entered in accordance with section 810.14, which spells out the forms a replevin judgment can take depending on where the property currently sits and who prevails.
Four things — whether the plaintiff is entitled to possession, whether the defendant unlawfully took or detained the property, the property’s value, and the damages the successful party sustained from the unlawful taking or unjust detention.
Yes. Section 810.13 (1) (c) requires the factfinder to find the value of the property involved.
Damages sustained by the successful party from any unlawful taking or unjust detention of the property, measured to the time of the trial.
Judgment is entered in accordance with section 810.14, which sets out how a replevin judgment is structured based on these findings.
Yes. It refers to findings by the court or jury, covering either a bench trial or a jury trial.
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 758, 777 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 810.13; 1995 a. 225.