(1) GENERAL. If damages are proper, the findings or verdict shall indicate the amount of damages awardable to each person interested.
844.19.Damages.
Ch. 844: Interference with Interest; Physical Injury · Last amended 1975 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 844.19 requires damages findings to state the amount awardable to each interested person, doubles the damages found when the injury or interference constitutes waste, and allows multiple damages when another statute provides for them.
Full Text of Section 844.19
(2) WASTE; DOUBLE DAMAGES. If the injury or interference constitutes waste, the court shall give judgment for double the damages found.
(3) MULTIPLE DAMAGES. Multiple damages may be awarded if a statute so provides.
Plain-English Summary
Section 844.19 governs how damages get calculated and awarded once liability is found in a chapter 844 action. Subsection (1) sets the general rule: if damages are proper, the findings or verdict must indicate the amount awardable to each person interested — reflecting, again, that more than one person may hold a compensable interest in the same property.
Subsection (2) sharply increases the stakes for waste specifically: if the injury or interference constitutes waste, the court shall give judgment for double the damages found. That doubling is not discretionary — once the fact-finder determines the damages figure for waste, the court’s judgment must double it.
Subsection (3) leaves room for even higher multiples when a separate statute calls for them: multiple damages may be awarded if a statute so provides, layering additional statutory damage multipliers on top of this chapter’s own doubling rule for waste.
Frequently Asked Questions
If multiple people have an interest in property that was damaged, does the verdict need to break down damages for each of them?
Yes. Section 844.19(1) requires the findings or verdict to indicate the amount of damages awardable to each person interested.
Are damages automatically doubled if the harm counts as waste?
Yes. Section 844.19(2) requires the court to give judgment for double the damages found when the injury or interference constitutes waste.
Is the doubling of waste damages something the court can choose not to do?
No. Section 844.19(2) states that the court shall give judgment for double the damages found, making the doubling mandatory once waste is established.
Can damages be multiplied by more than double under this chapter?
Yes, if another statute provides for it. Section 844.19(3) allows multiple damages to be awarded when a statute so provides, beyond this chapter’s own double-damages rule for waste.
Does the double-damages rule apply to ordinary interference claims that are not waste?
No. Section 844.19(2) ties the doubling specifically to injury or interference that constitutes waste; other claims fall under the general damages rule in subsection (1).
Amendment History
History: 1973 c. 189; Sup. Ct. Order, 67 Wis. 2d 585, 767 (1975); Stats. 1975 s. 844.19.
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: wisconsin double damages for wastehow are property injury damages calculated wisconsinmultiple damages statute wisconsin real property844.19 damages