Attorneys Don Carlson and Andrew Goldner recently received a favorable decision in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals related to a motion to transfer venue. In Salachna v. Marten Transport, LTD., the accident at issue occurred in Barron County but the plaintiff filed suit in Milwaukee County. The Milwaukee County trial court found that Barron County was the proper venue under Wis. Stat. § 801.50(2) and that defendants did not do substantial business in Milwaukee County. However, because the plaintiff lived in Chicago, the trial court invoked Wis. Stat. § 801.52 to keep venue in Milwaukee. Attorneys Carlson and Goldner appealed, and the Court of Appeals agreed with their position. In a decision recommended for publication, the appellate court held that a plaintiff must first comply with the requirements of Wis. Stat. § 801.50(2). If venue is proper under that statute, only then may the court use its discretion under Wis. Stat. § 801.52 to change venue. Because venue in Milwaukee County was not proper under § 801.50(2), the trial court erred when it applied § 801.52 to keep the matter in Milwaukee County.