Opinion ID: 1971616
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Certified MailOne Meaning

Text: Title 18, section 6856(3) of the Delaware Code requires the use of certified mail, return receipt requested. The General Assembly has decreed that words and phrases in statutes shall be read in context, and be construed according to the common and approved usage of the English language. [11] We have determined that the term certified mail has a common usage with only one meaning that does not include delivery by Federal Express. The term certified mail, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means: First class mail for which proof of delivery is secured but no indemnity value is claimed. [12] The term mail refers to `letters, packages, etc., sent or delivered by the postal service.' [13] The term postal service, in turn, refers to the post office, which is defined as `an office or station of a governmental postal system at which mail is received and sorted, from which it is dispatched and distributed.' [14] We hold, in this case, that the applicable statutory provision is not reasonably susceptible to different conclusions or interpretations. [15] The ability to toll the two-year statute of limitations is limited and that limited method for tolling is clearly set forth in section 6856(3). A plaintiff may toll the running of the two-year statute of limitations for ninety days by sending a Notice of Intent to investigate only by certified mail, return receipt requested, We further hold that the term certified mail does not include delivery through private carriers, such as delivery by Federal Express. [16]