Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 402.715

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Seller: means a person who sells or contracts to sell goods. See Wisconsin Statutes 402.103
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
   (1)    Incidental damages resulting from the seller‘s breach include expenses reasonably incurred in inspection, receipt, transportation and care and custody of goods rightfully rejected, any commercially reasonable charges, expenses or commissions in connection with effecting cover and any other reasonable expense incident to the delay or other breach.
   (2)   Consequential damages resulting from the seller’s breach include:
      (a)    Any loss resulting from general or particular requirements and needs of which the seller at the time of contracting had reason to know and which could not reasonably be prevented by cover or otherwise; and
      (b)    Injury to person or property proximately resulting from any breach of warranty.
402.715 Annotation Litigation expenses are not recoverable under this section. Murray v. Holiday Rambler, Inc., 83 Wis. 2d 406, 265 N.W.2d 513 (1978).
402.715 Annotation Interest charges are proper incidental damages. A punitive damages award was upheld. Owens v. Meyer Sales Co., Inc., 129 Wis. 2d 491, 385 N.W.2d 234 (Ct. App. 1986).
402.715 Annotation The economic loss doctrine, when it applies, bars recovery in tort for damages resulting from a product not performing as intended, including damages to the product itself or economic losses caused by the defective product. The economic loss doctrine does not bar the recovery of damages for injury to persons or other property resulting from a defective product; in fact sub. (2) (b) specifically allows it when caused by a breach of warranty. City of Stoughton v. Thomasson Lumber Co., 2004 WI App 6, 269 Wis. 2d 339, 675 N.W.2d 487, 02-2192.
402.715 AnnotationDamages are discussed. Afram Export Corp. v. Metallurgiki Halyps, S.A., 772 F.2d 1358 (1985).