Wis. Stat. » CHAPTER 893 — LIMITATIONS OF COMMENCEMENT OF ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS; PROCEDURE FOR CLAIMS AGAINST GOVERNMENTAL UNITS
Wisconsin Statutes

Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (2026)

Action for wrongful taking of personal property

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WI-LEGdocs.legis.wisconsin.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
893.51893.51 Action for wrongful taking of personal property.
893.51(1)(1) Except as provided in sub. (2), an action to recover damages for the wrongful taking, conversion or detention of personal property shall be commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues or be barred. The cause of action accrues at the time the wrongful taking or conversion occurs, or the wrongful detention begins.
893.51(2)(2) An action under s. 134.90 shall be commenced within 3 years after the misappropriation of a trade secret is discovered or should have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable diligence. A continuing misappropriation constitutes a single claim.
893.51 HistoryHistory: 1979 c. 323; 1985 a. 236.
893.51 NoteJudicial Council Committee’s Note, 1979: This section is based on previous s. 893.19 (6), without change in substance, but with some expansion of language to make clear that accrual of the cause of action is not delayed until the person bringing the action learns of the wrongful taking or detention. An action for recovery of the personal property is subject to s. 893.35 which is also based on previous s. 893.19 (6). [Bill 326-A]
893.51 AnnotationA wrongful detention claim is separate from a conversion claim. A wrongful detention claim may arise against a possessor of previously converted or wrongfully taken property. Under those facts, a wrongful detention claim is available and, for purposes of sub. (1) and s. 893.35, accrues at the time the property is obtained. No demand is necessary. Mueller v. TL90108, LLC, 2020 WI 7, 390 Wis. 2d 34, 938 N.W.2d 566, 17-1962.
893.51 AnnotationSub. (1) and s. 893.35 are statutes of repose, not statutes of limitation. A statute of repose provides that a cause of action must be commenced within a specified amount of time after the defendant’s action that allegedly led to injury, regardless of whether the plaintiff has discovered the injury or wrongdoing. With regard to a wrongful detention claim, the statutes focus on when the wrongful detention begins, not when the property owner discovers or knows of the detention. Mueller v. TL90108, LLC, 2020 WI 7, 390 Wis. 2d 34, 938 N.W.2d 566, 17-1962.
Down
Up
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 43 cases (20 in the last 5 years), 1984–2026 · leading case: Tomczak v. Bailey, 578 N.W.2d 166 (Wis. 1998).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Tomczak v. Bailey, 578 N.W.2d 166 (Wis. 1998). · cites it 22× “In Freitag, the applicable limitations period as set forth in Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1) (1987-88) provided that: [A]n action to recover damages for the wrongful taking, conversion or detention of personal property shall be commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues…”
State v. Sweat, 561 N.W.2d 695 (Wis. 1997). · cites it 8× “" It does not authorize a court to waive substantive statutory rights, one of which is the civil statute of limitations set forth in § 893.51(1). I therefore conclude that a court's authority under § 973.”
Richard A. Mueller v. TL90108, LLC, 2020 WI 7 (Wis. 2020). · cites it 7× “35 ("action to recover personal property"); Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1) ("action to recover damages").”
Chiste v. Hotels.com L.P., 756 F. Supp. 2d 382 (S.D.N.Y. 2010). “Wis. Stat. Ann. § 893.51 (1) (West 2006), Kane v.”
Plesko v. Figgie Int'l, 528 N.W.2d 446 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 3× “The trial court agreed that Plesko's conversion claim accrued in 1970 and applied the provisions of § 893.51, Stats., concluding that the conversion claim was time-barred by the six-year statute of limitations.”
State v. Sweat, 550 N.W.2d 709 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 5× “We conclude that § 893.51, Stats., is one such statute of limitations which is relevant to this case.”
Christopher Streckenbach v. Charles Van Densen, 868 F.3d 594 (7th Cir. 2017). “Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1) (claims dealing with destruction of personal property), § 893.”
E-L Enter., Inc. v. Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist., 2009 WI App 15 (Wis. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 3× “In an undeveloped argument, the Sewerage District contends that E-L Enterprises's inverse-condemnation claim was barred by the six-year statute of limitations in Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1), which declares: "Except as provided in sub.”
Fail-Safe LLC v. A.O. Smith Corp., 744 F. Supp. 2d 831 (E.D. Wis. 2010). · cites it 2× “” Wis. Stat. § 893.51 . Moreover, “the unanimous conclusion of courts considering” the issue of when a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets arises for statute of limitations purposes have concluded that a claim arises “only once” — “at the time the initial…”
Starsurgical Inc. v. Aperta, LLC, 40 F. Supp. 3d 1069 (E.D. Wis. 2014). · cites it 2× “Thus, Wittmann may proceed on his unjust enrichment claims related to Deutsch’s compensation as it relates to the 2009 raise.”
Tomczak v. Bailey, 557 N.W.2d 840 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “The cause of action accrues at the time the *413 wrongful taking or conversion occurs, or the wrongful detention begins.”
Chesemore v. All. Holdings, Inc., 284 F.R.D. 416 (W.D. Wis. 2012). · cites it 2× “35 (action to recover personal property); Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (action for wrongful taking of personal property); Wis.”
Show all 43 citing cases →
— Wis. Stat. § 893.51(1) — 6 cases
State v. Sweat, 561 N.W.2d 695 (Wis. 1997). “" It does not authorize a court to waive substantive statutory rights, one of which is the civil statute of limitations set forth in § 893.51(1). I therefore conclude that a court's authority under § 973.”
Richard A. Mueller v. TL90108, LLC, 2020 WI 7 (Wis. 2020). “35 ("action to recover personal property"); Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1) ("action to recover damages").”
Plesko v. Figgie Int'l, 528 N.W.2d 446 (Wis. Ct. App. 1994). “The trial court agreed that Plesko's conversion claim accrued in 1970 and applied the provisions of § 893.51, Stats., concluding that the conversion claim was time-barred by the six-year statute of limitations.”
Hanley Implement Co. v. Riesterer Equip., Inc., 441 N.W.2d 304 (Wis. Ct. App. 1989).
Est. of Makos Ex Rel. Makos v. Wisconsin Masons Health Care Fund, 564 N.W.2d 662 (Wis. 1997).
— Wis. Stat. § 893.51(2) — 2 cases
E-L Enter., Inc. v. Milwaukee Metro. Sewerage Dist., 2009 WI App 15 (Wis. Ct. App. 2008). “In an undeveloped argument, the Sewerage District contends that E-L Enterprises's inverse-condemnation claim was barred by the six-year statute of limitations in Wis. Stat. § 893.51 (1), which declares: "Except as provided in sub.”
Southport Commons, LLC v. DOT, 2020 WI App 26 (Wis. Ct. App. 2020).
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.