893.53 Action for injury to character or other rights. - Wisconsin Statutes

893.53

893.53 Action for injury to character or other rights. An action to recover damages for an injury to the character or rights of another, not arising on contract, shall be commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues, except where a different period is expressly prescribed, or be barred.

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History: 1979 c. 323.

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Judicial Council Committee's Note, 1979: This section is based upon previous s. 893.19 (5) which is split into 2 provisions. See s. 893.52 for the other provision. [Bill 326]

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This section applies to legal malpractice actions that sound in tort. Acharya v. Carroll, 152 Wis. 2d 330, 448 N.W.2d 275 (Ct. App. 1989).

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The application of the discovery rule to legal malpractice actions is discussed. Hennekens v. Hoerl, 160 Wis. 2d 144, 465 N.W.2d 812 (1991).

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This section and the discovery rule apply to engineering malpractice actions. Milwaukee Partners v. Collins Engineers, 169 Wis. 2d 355, 485 N.W.2d 274 (Ct. App. 1992).

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This section is the state's general and residual personal injury statute of limitations and is applicable to 42 USC 1983 actions. Hemberger v. Bitzer, 216 Wis. 2d 509, 574 N.W.2d 656 (1998), 96-2973.

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A party's deficient performance of a contract does not give rise to a tort claim. There must be a duty independent of the contract for a cause of action in tort. Atkinson v. Everbrite, Inc. 224 Wis. 2d 724, 592 N.W.2d 299 (Ct. App. 1999), 98-1806.

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Even though a plaintiff might plead and testify to having suffered emotional distress on account of a lawyer's malpractice, that fact does not convert the claim into one seeking redress for injuries to the person. The underlying injuries in a legal malpractice claim are to rights and interests of a plaintiff that go beyond, or at least are different from, injuries to his or her person under s. 893.54. Hicks v. Nunnery, 2002 WI App 87, 253 Wis. 2d 721, 643 N.W.2d 809, 01-0751.

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The residual or general personal injury statute of limitations applies to 42 USC 1983 actions. Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 102 L. Ed. 2d 594 (1989).

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This section applies to actions under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Doe v. Milwaukee County, 871 F. Supp. 1072 (1995).

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Cross Reference: See also the notes to 893.54 for additional treatments of 42 USC 1983.