Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 409.401 (2026)

Alienability of debtor’s rights

✓ current as of July 2026

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409.401409.401 Alienability of debtor’s rights.

409.401(1)(1) Other law governs alienability; exceptions. Except as otherwise provided in sub. (2) and ss. 409.406, 409.407, 409.408, and 409.409, whether a debtor’s rights in collateral may be voluntarily or involuntarily transferred is governed by law other than this chapter.

409.401(2)(2) Agreement does not prevent transfer. An agreement between the debtor and secured party which prohibits a transfer of the debtor’s rights in collateral or makes the transfer a default does not prevent the transfer from taking effect.

409.401 HistoryHistory: 2001 a. 10.

409.401 AnnotationIf a security agreement does not explicitly provide that transfer of collateral constitutes default and the secured party is not entitled to immediate possession, sale of collateral is not a conversion. Production Credit Ass’n of Chippewa Falls v. Equity Coop Livestock Sales Ass’n, 82 Wis. 2d 5, 261 N.W.2d 127 (1978).

409.401 AnnotationA condition imposed by a secured party on authorization to sell collateral is ineffective unless performance of the condition is within the buyer’s control. Production Credit Ass’n of Madison v. Nowatzski, 90 Wis. 2d 344, 280 N.W.2d 118 (1979).

409.401 NoteNOTE: The above annotations cite to the pre-2001 Wis. Act 10 version of this chapter.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 1979–2009 · leading case: United Gen. Leasing, Inc. v. Gehrke Enter., Inc. (In Re Gehrke Enter., Inc.), 1 B.R. 647 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1979).

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United Gen. Leasing, Inc. v. Gehrke Enter., Inc. (In Re Gehrke Enter., Inc.), 1 B.R. 647 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1979). · cites it 2× “408 to make a protective filing under Wis.Stat. § 409.401 to § 409.409 to perfect its lien by filing.”

Bank of Holmen v. Ruf (In Re Ruf), 32 B.R. 169 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1983). · cites it 7× “Barlow, however, relies on Wis.Stat. § 409.401(2) to subordinate the Bank’s perfected interest: A filing which is made in good faith in an improper place or not in all of the places required by this section is nevertheless effective with regard to any collateral as to which the…”

ONE CW, LLC v. Cartridge World North Am., LLC, 661 F. Supp. 2d 931 (N.D. Ill. 2009). “” 810 ILCS 5/9-401(b); Wis. Stat. § 409.401 (2). Courts interpreting UCC § 9-401(b)’s predecessor, § 9-311, have held that “the mere declaration of a default in the absence of other affirmative remedial action, such as the acceleration of the loan, does not entitle the secured…”

Adashek v. Szatkowski (In Re Szatkowski), 51 B.R. 104 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1985). · cites it 2× “§ 409.401(l)(c), rendered the assignee’s interest subordinate to that of the trustee under the strong-arm provisions of § 544(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.”

In Re Shepler, 78 B.R. 217 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1987). “Wisconsin Statutes § 409.401(l)(c). The financing statement that the Bank filed in Jackson County did not serve to perfect its security interest in the property.”

Matter of Rahberg Farms, Inc., 8 B.R. 244 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1981). · cites it 10× “The trustee objected to the secured claims of Vern’s and Deere as not properly perfected under Wis.Stat. § 409.401 which states: (1) The proper place to file in order to perfect a security interest is as follows: (a) When the collateral is equipment used in farming operations,…”

In Re Wright, 196 B.R. 97 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1995). “302(1) requires the filing of a financing statement for perfection of a security interest, and § 409.401(l)(a) requires that to be effective the financing statement must be filed in the office of the register of deeds in the county of the debtor’s residence.”

Am. Wood Dryers, Inc. v. Bombardier Capital, Inc., 305 F. Supp. 2d 966 (W.D. Wis. 2002). · cites it 4× “It cites Wis. Stat. § 409.401 (2), which states that filing in an improper place is still “effective” “against any person who has knowledge of the contents of such financing statement.”

— Wis. Stat. § 409.401(2) — 2 cases

Bank of Holmen v. Ruf (In Re Ruf), 32 B.R. 169 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1983). “Barlow, however, relies on Wis.Stat. § 409.401(2) to subordinate the Bank’s perfected interest: A filing which is made in good faith in an improper place or not in all of the places required by this section is nevertheless effective with regard to any collateral as to which the…”

Matter of Rahberg Farms, Inc., 8 B.R. 244 (Bankr. W.D. Wis. 1981). “The trustee objected to the secured claims of Vern’s and Deere as not properly perfected under Wis.Stat. § 409.401 which states: (1) The proper place to file in order to perfect a security interest is as follows: (a) When the collateral is equipment used in farming operations,…”

— Wis. Stat. § 409.401(l)(a) — 2 cases

— Wis. Stat. § 409.401(l)(c) — 3 cases

Adashek v. Szatkowski (In Re Szatkowski), 51 B.R. 104 (Bankr. E.D. Wis. 1985). “§ 409.401(l)(c), rendered the assignee’s interest subordinate to that of the trustee under the strong-arm provisions of § 544(a) of the Bankruptcy Code.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.