Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 407.403 (2026)
Obligation of warehouse or carrier to deliver; excuse
✓ current as of July 2026
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407.403(1)(1) A bailee shall deliver the goods to a person entitled under a document of title if the person complies with subs. (2) and (3), unless and to the extent that the bailee establishes any of the following:
407.403(1)(a)(a) Delivery of the goods to a person whose receipt was rightful as against the claimant.
407.403(1)(b)(b) Damage to or delay, loss, or destruction of the goods for which the bailee is not liable.
407.403(1)(c)(c) Previous sale or other disposition of the goods in lawful enforcement of a lien or on a warehouse’s lawful termination of storage.
407.403(1)(d)(d) The exercise by a seller of its right to stop delivery pursuant to s. 402.705 or by a lessor of its right to stop delivery pursuant to s. 411.526.
407.403(1)(f)(f) Release, satisfaction, or any other fact affording a personal defense against the claimant.
407.403(2)(2) A person claiming goods covered by a document of title shall satisfy the bailee’s lien if the bailee so requests or the bailee is prohibited by law from delivering the goods until the charges are paid.
407.403(3)(3) Unless a person claiming the goods is one against which the document of title does not confer a right under s. 407.503 (1), all of the following apply:
407.403(3)(a)(a) The person claiming under a document shall surrender possession or control of any outstanding negotiable document covering the goods for cancellation or indication of partial deliveries.
407.403(3)(b)(b) The bailee shall cancel the document or conspicuously indicate in the document the partial delivery or be liable to any person to which the document is duly negotiated.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases, 1982–1994 · leading case: Met-Al, Inc. v. Hansen Storage Co., 828 F. Supp. 1369 (E.D. Wis. 1993).
Met-Al, Inc. v. Hansen Storage Co., 828 F. Supp. 1369 (E.D. Wis. 1993). “The Wisconsin statute imposing duties on a warehouseman describes him as a bailee, Wis.Stat. § 407.403(1), which would seemingly subject a warehouseman to liability for wrongful delivery.”
Robert L. Preston v. United States, 696 F.2d 528 (7th Cir. 1982). “Under Wisconsin law the depositors have the right to possession upon presentation of the warehouse receipt(s), see Wis.Stat. § 407.403. Thus, in the instant case, the CCC and the plaintiffs were tenants in common with respect to the stored grain and Grain Finance was the bailee.”
Met-Al, Inc. v. Hansen Storage Co., 844 F. Supp. 485 (E.D. Wis. 1994). “, and § 407.403 of the Wisconsin Statutes because it followed MBI’s shipping instructions even though Met-Al, and not MBI, retained a continuing right to immediate possession of the goods and lawful title.”
— Wis. Stat. § 407.403(1) — 1 case
Met-Al, Inc. v. Hansen Storage Co., 828 F. Supp. 1369 (E.D. Wis. 1993). “The Wisconsin statute imposing duties on a warehouseman describes him as a bailee, Wis.Stat. § 407.403(1), which would seemingly subject a warehouseman to liability for wrongful delivery.”
— Wis. Stat. § 407.403(l) — 1 case
Met-Al, Inc. v. Hansen Storage Co., 828 F. Supp. 1369 (E.D. Wis. 1993). “The Wisconsin statute imposing duties on a warehouseman describes him as a bailee, Wis.Stat. § 407.403(1), which would seemingly subject a warehouseman to liability for wrongful delivery.”
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