(1) No trial shall be had of the garnishment action until the plaintiff has judgment in the principal action and if the defendant has judgment the garnishment action shall be dismissed with costs.
812.16.Principal action tried first; judgment.
Ch. 812: Garnishment · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 812.16 postpones any trial of the garnishment issue until the plaintiff has won the principal action, dismisses the garnishment with costs if the defendant wins instead, and describes the range of relief a court can order once judgment goes against a garnishee.
Full Text of Section 812.16
(2) The court may adjudge the recovery of any debt, the conveyance, transfer or delivery to the sheriff or any officer appointed by the judgment of any real estate or personal property disclosed or found to be liable to be applied to the plaintiff’s demand; or by the judgment pass the title thereto; and may therein or by its order direct the manner of making sale and of disposing of the proceeds thereof, or of any money or other thing paid or delivered to the clerk or officer. The judgment against a garnishee shall discharge the garnishee from all demands by the defendant for all property paid, delivered or accounted for by the garnishee, by force of such judgment.
Official Notes
Cross-reference: See s. 811.14 for sale of perishable property.
Plain-English Summary
Section 812.16 sequences the two proceedings a garnishment action ties together. No trial of the garnishment issue between the plaintiff and the garnishee can happen until the plaintiff has won judgment in the principal action against the defendant. If the defendant wins that principal action instead, the garnishment action is dismissed along with it, and the plaintiff pays costs.
Once the plaintiff clears that threshold, the section describes what the court can do with property or debts the garnishee is found to owe. The court can order recovery of a debt outright, or order the conveyance, transfer, or delivery to the sheriff or a court-appointed officer of real estate or personal property disclosed or found liable to the plaintiff’s claim, and it can pass title through the judgment itself, directing how any sale or disposal of proceeds should happen. Once that judgment is entered, the garnishee is discharged from any further claim by the defendant over whatever the garnishee paid, delivered, or accounted for under the judgment’s force.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the garnishment issue be tried before the plaintiff wins the main case?
No. Section 812.16(1) bars any trial of the garnishment action until the plaintiff has judgment in the principal action.
What happens to the garnishment if the defendant wins the underlying case?
Section 812.16(1) requires the garnishment action to be dismissed with costs if the defendant, rather than the plaintiff, obtains judgment.
What can a court order once a garnishee is found liable?
Under Section 812.16(2), the court can adjudge recovery of a debt, order property conveyed, transferred, or delivered to the sheriff or a court-appointed officer, pass title through the judgment, and direct how any sale or the resulting proceeds are handled.
Once the garnishee pays under a judgment, can the defendant still come after the garnishee for the same property?
No. Section 812.16(2) discharges the garnishee from all demands by the defendant for anything paid, delivered, or accounted for under the force of that judgment.
Does anything in this section address selling perishable attached property?
An official cross-reference points to Section 811.14 for the sale of perishable property, which sits outside this section’s own text.
Amendment History
History: Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 759 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 812.16; 1993 a. 486.
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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