Madson v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.

612 N.W.2d 168, 2000 Minn. LEXIS 339, 80 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,449, 2000 WL 768537
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedJune 15, 2000
DocketCX-99-1508
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 612 N.W.2d 168 (Madson v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Madson v. Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., 612 N.W.2d 168, 2000 Minn. LEXIS 339, 80 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,449, 2000 WL 768537 (Mich. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

GILBERT, Justice.

This appeal arises from a lawsuit filed by appellant Catherine Madson against Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) alleging claims of discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Review of the underlying claims is not before this court. We granted review to decide the narrow question of whether appellant’s Minn. R. Civ. P. 60.02(a) and (f) motion to vacate judgment was “proper” under Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 104.01, subd. 2 and thus tolled the 60-day time limitation for appeal.

Appellant worked for 3M on and off for 19 years. In 1993, she was promoted to the position of Customer Service Representative at 3M. Sometime in March of 1996, appellant resigned. There is a significant dispute over exactly when appellant resigned from 3M. However, two relevant facts are not in dispute. March 5, 1996 was appellant’s last day physically present at the 3M plant and a letter signed by Madson’s supervisor, Alan Reiter (the Reiter letter), confirms that 3M received actual notice of Madson’s resignation on March 8, 1996, during a phone conversation between Madson and Reiter.

On March 6, 1997, appellant filed a charge against 3M with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR). On March 27, 1998, appellant commenced a civil action against 3M alleging gender and marital status discrimination and retaliation under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. See generally Minn.Stat. § 363.03, subds. 1, 7 (1998). After the close of discovery, 3M filed a motion for summary judgment arguing, in part, that appellant’s claims with the MDHR, filed one year and one day after her last day physically present at work, were barred by the one-year statute of limitations covering discrimination claims. See generally Minn.Stat. § 363.03, subd. 3 (1998).

In her memorandum opposing summary judgment, appellant argued that her claims were not time-barred because the statute of limitations runs from the date of her official resignation notification to her employer, rather than from the date she was last physically present on the job. In the memorandum, appellant’s original counsel listed under the heading “Documents Relied Upon,” the March 8, 1996, Reiter letter. It was also discussed in the memorandum. However, that document did not become part of the record. Appellant argues that the omission of the Reiter letter was a result of her first counsel’s inadvertence.

Appellant changed counsel on May 3, 1999. Shortly thereafter, appellant’s new counsel realized that the Reiter letter had been omitted from the record submitted to the trial court in the opposition memorandum. By a letter dated May 18, 1999, appellant requested that the district court accept supplemental materials in consideration of the motion. The court granted summary judgment for 3M, which was entered on May 19, 1999, and sent a letter to appellant on May 20,1999, stating that the record for summary judgment was closed and that appellant could move the court to reopen it.

On May 28, 1999, appellant moved to vacate judgment pursuant to Minn. R. Civ. P. 60.02(a) and (f). Subdivisions (a) and (f) of Rule 60.02 allow the district court to relieve a party from judgment and “order a new trial or grant such other relief as may be just” where there is “[mjistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect” or for “[a]ny other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.” *170 Appellant specifically asked that the court reopen the record, admit the omitted letter and then “determine” that there is a material fact in dispute, the date of appellant’s resignation, which cannot be resolved by summary judgment. On June 18, 1999, the district court denied appellant’s motion, reasoning that it had already considered other evidence from appellant’s brief and deposition that suggested that the date of resignation was March 8, 1996. The district court held that the Reiter letter, confirming March 8, 1996, as the date appellant notified her supervisor at 3M of her resignation, was of “no consequence” because it is the date that appellant was last physically present at 3M, March 5, 1996, that is determinative of the statute of limitations issue. Appellant filed the June 18, 1999 order on August 17, 1999 and it is uncontested that appellant served notice of the filing of the district court’s order on August 17,1999.

On September 1, 1999, appellant sought review in the Minnesota Court of Appeals of both the summary judgment entered on May 19, 1999 and the order filed August 17, 1999, denying appellant’s Rule 60.02(a) and (f) motion. By order opinion, the court of appeals held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the summary judgment decision because the time for appeal lapsed on July 19, 1999, 60 days after the summary judgment was entered. See Madson v. Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co., No. CX-99-1508, slip op. at 2 (Minn.App. Oct. 3, 1999) (citing Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 104.01, subd. 1; Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 126.02 (providing that the time to file notice of appeal may not be extended by appellate courts)). The court of appeals noted that the running of the time for appeal can be tolled under Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 104.01, subd. 2 if any party serves and files a “proper and timely” motion of a type specified in the rule, which includes timely motions under Rule 60. See Madson, slip op. at 1.

The court of appeals acknowledged that there is no dispute here that appellant’s Rule 60.02 motion was “timely.” See Mad-son, slip op. at 2. The court held however, that appellant’s 60.02 motion was not “proper” because Rule 60.02 does not allow for the “introduction of evidence that was known to exist before judgment was entered.” Madson, slip op. at 2 (citing Sullivan v. Spot Weld, Inc., 560 N.W.2d 712, 716 (Minn.App.), rev. denied (Minn. Apr. 24, 1997)). The court of appeals also dismissed the appeal of the order filed August 17,1999, because it held that an order denying a motion to vacate a final judgment is generally not separately appeal-able and appellant had failed to demonstrate a basis for appeal under Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 103.03. See Madson, slip op. at 3.

Resolution of the jurisdictional issue before us requires interpretation of Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 104.01. The interpretation of the Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure presents a question of law; therefore, our review is de novo. See Stoebe v. Merastar Ins. Co., 554 N.W.2d 733, 735 (Minn.1996). Further, because the dates governing the jurisdictional issue are not in dispute, we review the jurisdiction question de novo. See Marzitelli v. City of Little Canada, 582 N.W.2d 904, 905 (Minn.1998).

An amendment to Rule 104.01, effective on January 1, 1999, and therefore, applicable to this case, provides a 60-day period in which an appeal may be taken from either an entry of judgment or an appeal-able order. See Minn. R. Civ.App. P. 104.01, subd. 1, Advisory Comm. Cmt. - 1998 Amendment.

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Bluebook (online)
612 N.W.2d 168, 2000 Minn. LEXIS 339, 80 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 40,449, 2000 WL 768537, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/madson-v-minnesota-mining-manufacturing-co-minn-2000.