Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 553 — WISCONSIN FRANCHISE INVESTMENT LAW
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (2026)

Civil liability; sale in violation

✓ current as of July 2026
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553.51553.51 Civil liability; sale in violation.
553.51(1)(1) Any person who sells a franchise in violation of s. 553.27 (4), if the violation was material in the franchisee’s or subfranchisor’s decision to purchase the franchise, shall be liable to the franchisee or subfranchisor, who may bring an action for rescission.
553.51(2)(2) Any person who violates s. 553.41 (3), (4) or (5) is liable for damages to any person who does not know or have cause to believe that the statement or representation was false or misleading and who, while relying upon the statement or representation, purchased a franchise, unless the defendant proves that the plaintiff knew the facts concerning the untruth or omission or that the defendant exercised reasonable care and did not know, or if the defendant had exercised reasonable care would not have known, of the untruth or omission.
553.51(3)(3) Every person who directly or indirectly controls a person liable under sub. (1) or (2), every partner in a firm so liable, every principal executive officer or director of a corporation so liable, every person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions and every employee of a person so liable who materially aids in the act or transaction constituting the violation is also liable jointly and severally with and to the same extent as such person, unless the person who would otherwise be liable hereunder had no knowledge of or reasonable grounds to believe in the existence of the facts by reason of which the liability is alleged to exist.
553.51(4)(4) No action may be maintained against any person to enforce any liability under this section unless it is brought before the expiration of 3 years after the act or transaction constituting the violation upon which the liability is based or 90 days after delivery to the franchisee of a written notice from or on behalf of that person that discloses any violation of this chapter and that is filed with the division, whichever first expires.
553.51(5)(5) The rights and remedies under this chapter are in addition to any other rights or remedies that may exist at law or in equity.
553.51 HistoryHistory: 1971 c. 241; 1981 c. 54 s. 32; 1983 a. 216; 1985 a. 332; 1995 a. 27, 364, 415; 1997 a. 35.
553.51 AnnotationA franchisor who illegally sold a franchise had no right to set off the value of “benefits conferred” upon the franchisee against the franchisor’s liability for its illegal actions. Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 98 Wis. 2d 711, 298 N.W.2d 217 (Ct. App. 1980).
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2026 · leading case: Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 298 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980).
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Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 298 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980). · cites it 4× “The trial court granted Hiltpold rescission of a franchise agreement pursuant to sec. 553.51, Stats., and awarded Hiltpold $28,096.”
Sterling Vision DKM, Inc. v. Gordon, 976 F. Supp. 1194 (E.D. Wis. 1997). · cites it 15× “shall be liable to the franchisee or subfranchisor, who may bring an action for rescission ____ Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (1X1993). Section 553.”
Maryland Staffing Servs., Inc. v. Manpower, Inc., 936 F. Supp. 1494 (E.D. Wis. 1996). · cites it 2× “Section 553.51 of the WFIL grants a franchisee a cause of action against the seller of a franchise when the sale was effectuated by fraud.”
Kinship Inspection Serv., Inc. v. Newcomer, 605 N.W.2d 579 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 3× “See § 553.51(1), Stats. Section 553.41(3) concerns false or misleading statements, not included under subsec.”
Cottman Transmission Sys., LLC v. Kershner, 492 F. Supp. 2d 461 (E.D. Pa. 2007). “Law § 691 (1); Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (3). Thus, the franchise disclosure statutes enable the Franchisees to bring actions against Leff in this case without having to pierce the corporate veil.”
Burger Dynasty, Inc. v. Bar 145 Franchising, L.L.C., 2019 Ohio 4006 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 2× “, citing Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (1)(Emphasis added). So although appellees attempt to argue that Braatz applies to the case at hand, the analysis is very different.”
Braatz, L.L.C. v. Red Mango FC, L.L.C, et a, 642 F. App'x 406 (5th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (1); see Lujan, 504 U.”
Heather Gudex v. Franklin Collection Serv., Inc., 2026 WI 6 (Wis. 2026). · cites it 2× “§ 553.51(4) (“No action may be maintained against any person to enforce any liability under this section” of Wisconsin’s Franchise Investment Law “unless it is brought before the expiration of 3 years after the act or transaction constituting the violation .”
Colin Hoffman v. Frank Gribble (Wis. Ct. App. 2023). “…Hiltpold court, includes specific provisions allowing for rescission and damages. See id. at 714 & n.2; WIS. STAT. § 553.51(1), (2). 18”
— Wis. Stat. § 553.51(1) — 4 cases
Kinship Inspection Serv., Inc. v. Newcomer, 605 N.W.2d 579 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). “See § 553.51(1), Stats. Section 553.41(3) concerns false or misleading statements, not included under subsec.”
Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 298 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980). “The trial court granted Hiltpold rescission of a franchise agreement pursuant to sec. 553.51, Stats., and awarded Hiltpold $28,096.”
Sterling Vision DKM, Inc. v. Gordon, 976 F. Supp. 1194 (E.D. Wis. 1997). “shall be liable to the franchisee or subfranchisor, who may bring an action for rescission ____ Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (1X1993). Section 553.”
Colin Hoffman v. Frank Gribble (Wis. Ct. App. 2023). “…Hiltpold court, includes specific provisions allowing for rescission and damages. See id. at 714 & n.2; WIS. STAT. § 553.51(1), (2). 18”
— Wis. Stat. § 553.51(2) — 1 case
Kinship Inspection Serv., Inc. v. Newcomer, 605 N.W.2d 579 (Wis. Ct. App. 1999). “See § 553.51(1), Stats. Section 553.41(3) concerns false or misleading statements, not included under subsec.”
— Wis. Stat. § 553.51(3) — 1 case
Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 298 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980). “The trial court granted Hiltpold rescission of a franchise agreement pursuant to sec. 553.51, Stats., and awarded Hiltpold $28,096.”
— Wis. Stat. § 553.51(4) — 3 cases
Hiltpold v. T-Shirts Plus, Inc., 298 N.W.2d 217 (Wis. Ct. App. 1980). “The trial court granted Hiltpold rescission of a franchise agreement pursuant to sec. 553.51, Stats., and awarded Hiltpold $28,096.”
Sterling Vision DKM, Inc. v. Gordon, 976 F. Supp. 1194 (E.D. Wis. 1997). “shall be liable to the franchisee or subfranchisor, who may bring an action for rescission ____ Wis. Stat. § 553.51 (1X1993). Section 553.”
Heather Gudex v. Franklin Collection Serv., Inc., 2026 WI 6 (Wis. 2026). “§ 553.51(4) (“No action may be maintained against any person to enforce any liability under this section” of Wisconsin’s Franchise Investment Law “unless it is brought before the expiration of 3 years after the act or transaction constituting the violation .”
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.