Living Word Christian Center v. Church Mutual Insurance Company
- Susan Nelson
- 0:21-cv-01976
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 12
Living Word v. Church Mutual, Judge Nelson denied summary judgment, ruling that certified-mail service was timely when mailed under Minnesota law.
Living Word Christian Center may continue its lawsuit because the court ruled that its service was timely for purposes of the insurance policy’s two-year limitations period. Church Mutual Insurance Company did not obtain summary judgment on that issue.
What happened
Living Word Christian Center sued Church Mutual Insurance Company over alleged wind and hail damage covered by an insurance policy. Church Mutual argued that the lawsuit was too late because the policy required claims to be brought within two years of the loss.
Living Word mailed the summons and complaint to the Minnesota Department of Commerce by certified mail on August 5, 2021, exactly two years after the alleged damage. The Department received the papers on August 11, but Living Word argued that service was complete when it mailed them.
In Living Word Christian Center v. Church Mutual Insurance Company, Judge Susan Richard Nelson denied Church Mutual’s summary-judgment motion. She ruled that Minnesota’s substitute-service law made service complete when Living Word placed the papers in certified mail, so the policy’s two-year deadline did not bar the lawsuit.
The detailed version
- Living Word Christian Center v. Church Mutual Insurance Company · No. 0:21-cv-01976
- Susan Nelson
- Apr. 26, 2022
Background
Living Word Christian Center, a nonprofit church registered with Minnesota, alleged that wind and hail damaged covered property on August 5, 2019. Church Mutual Insurance Company had issued Living Word a commercial insurance policy covering certain buildings and structures. The policy included a two-year limitations period measured from the date of loss.
Living Word mailed the summons and complaint to the Minnesota Department of Commerce by certified mail on August 5, 2021. The Department received them on August 11, 2021. Living Word also mailed Church Mutual notice of service, which Church Mutual received on August 9, and Living Word filed an affidavit of compliance with the court on August 19.
Church Mutual moved for summary judgment, which is a ruling entered when no genuine dispute of important fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Church Mutual argued that Minnesota Rule of Civil Procedure 4.03(c) governed service and required delivery to the authorized agent. Because the Department did not receive the papers until August 11, Church Mutual argued that Living Word missed the policy’s two-year deadline.
Living Word argued that Minnesota Statute § 45.028, subdivision 2, provides a different method: substitute service by sending the process to the commissioner by certified mail. Living Word maintained that service was complete when it placed the papers in the mail on August 5.
Court’s analysis
The court held that Rule 4.03(c), which governs personal service within Minnesota, does not apply to substitute service on a foreign company under § 45.028, subdivision 2. The court relied in part on a Minnesota Supreme Court decision explaining that service under that statute is made—and the lawsuit is commenced—when the plaintiff sends the process to the Commissioner of Commerce by certified mail.
The court also rejected Church Mutual’s argument that “sending” means the same thing as “delivering.” It concluded that the ordinary meaning of “sending” refers to the initial act of placing something in the mail, not the recipient’s later receipt. The court further reasoned that the statute’s use of different words, including “leaving” and “sending,” indicated that those words should not be treated as having identical meanings.
Ruling
The court concluded that Living Word completed substitute service when it placed the summons and complaint in certified mail on August 5, 2021. It therefore determined that Living Word’s lawsuit was not barred by the policy’s two-year limitations period.
Judge Susan Richard Nelson denied Church Mutual Insurance Company’s Motion for Summary Judgment. The order addressed only the limitations-period issue described in the opinion.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.