The Wisconsin Consumer Act: Territorial Considerations

This Article primarily analyzes the impact of the territorial specifications of the Wisconsin Consumer Act on a consumer transaction. The Wisconsin Consumer Act specifies six territorial circumstances, and this Article analyzes each separately. The six territorial circumstances are as follows: (1) Was the transaction “made in Wisconsin”?; (2) Is there collection activity in Wisconsin?; (3) Is there collection activity in a foreign jurisdiction?; (4) Did the transaction involve an open-end credit sale?; (5) Did the parties’ contract contain a Wisconsin or foreign choice- of-law clause?; and (6) How do the WCA venue rules apply? Depending on which of the territorial circumstances applies, all or some parts of the WCA will apply to the consumer transaction.