Court Opinion

ID: 9669911
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 03:10:47.632303+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:01.085613
License: Public Domain

SNYDER, P.J.
¶ 17. (concurring in part; dissenting in part). I concur in the mandate but not in the opinion's reasoning supporting the mandate. Wisconsin Stat. § 893.80(lg) expressly states a "Notice of disallowance of the claim submitted under sub. (1) shall be served on the claimant by registered or certified mail." The City used certified mail to serve Pool. The majority opinion is correct in that the statute of limitations for Pool's claim was not triggered by the notice of disallowance and that the judgment must be reversed. However, the opinion does not fully, or correctly, address the reasons that service upon Pool failed to comply with § 893.80(lg).
¶ 18. Pool's primary appellate contentions are that: (1) the notice of disallowance was not "served on the claimant," hut rather on Pool's daughter;1 and (2) the certified mail receipt was not "signed by the claimant." The majority opinion only addresses Pool's contention that the notice of disallowance was not "served on the claimant," the first contention. However, the second contention, that a receipt was not signed by Pool, is key and controlling where certified mail is utilized under Wis. Stat. § 893.80(lg).
*736¶ 19. A statute shall be construed to give effect to every part of it. Hahner v. Board of Educ. Wis. Rapids, 89 Wis. 2d 180, 189, 278 N.W.2d 474 (Ct. App. 1979). A statute must be construed in light of its purpose. Wisconsin's Envtl. Decade, Inc. v. PSC, 84 Wis. 2d 504, 518, 267 N.W.2d 609 (1978). The crucial difference between registered and certified mail is that the user of registered mail must be given a receipt upon which a postmark appears. Patterson v. Board of Regents, 103 Wis. 2d 358, 359, 309 N.W.2d 3 (Ct. App. 1981). A receipt is optional when certified mail is used. Id.
¶ 20. Here, the general rule of statutory construction concerning the use of certified and registered mail in Wis. Stat. § 990.001(13) is instructive, reading in relevant part:
[W]henever the statutes authorize. .. the use of registered mail, and do not require receipt of the addressee only, certified mail may be used if a sender's receipt is obtained from the postal authorities and return receipt is requested. If a return receipt signed by an addressee only is required, registered mail must be used. (Emphasis added.)
¶ 21. Wisconsin Stat. § 893.80(lg) requires the signed receipt of the claimant2 only and, therefore, would normally require that Pool's disallowance notice be sent by registered mail in compliance with Wis. Stat. § 990.001(13). However, construing § 893.80(lg) in that manner would produce a result inconsistent with the manifest intent of the legislature to authorize the use of certified mail. The legislature required, however, that when certified mail is used under § 893.80(lg) that the *737notice "shall be served on the claimant.. . and the receipt therefor, signed by the claimant.. . shall be proof of service." Id. (Emphasis added). The second requirement, that the receipt be signed by the claimant, assures that the § 893.80(lg) use of certified mail is consistent with the legislative concern expressed in the last sentence of § 990.001(13). In other words, in the context of service by certified mail the requirement that the receipt for the notice of disallowance he signed by the claimant excepts the required use of registered mail required under § 990.001(13). With this in mind, we can turn to the procedure used here to serve the notice of disallowance upon Pool.
¶ 22. Certified mail requires the use of PS Form 3800, the Certified Mail Receipt (CMR), and paying a fee of $2.40.3 The CMR does not require that a recipient sign for the mail. Even if the claimant directly receives the mail, the CMR itself will not satisfy the Wis. Stat. § 893.80(lg) requirement that a signed receipt be obtained from the claimant.
¶ 23. The City requested that a delivery receipt be obtained at the designated address on the CMR by using PS Form 3811, Return Receipt Requested (RRR), and paying an additional fee of $1.85. A receipt for the certified mail would have sufficed had it been signed by Pool. It was not. It was signed by his daughter as his agent.4 Compliance with the RRR may be by an agent, as was the case here, or the claimant. If Wis. Stat. *738§ 893.80(lg) did not contain the additional requirement that the receipt be signed by the claimant, I would agree with the City that proper service was obtained upon Pool as the claimant at this point by certified mail. It is for that reason that the return of the receipt signed by the claimant, rather that service upon the claimant, is the controlling issue of law in this appeal.
¶ 24. The City could have insured compliance with Wis. Stat. § 893.80(lg) by requesting in the RRR that the certified mail be served upon Pool only by checking item 4 (Restricted Delivery), "Yes," and paying an additional fee of $3.70. This appeal, unfortunately, is about that $3.70.
¶ 25. While I concur that the reversal of the judgment is warranted, I must also conclude that the opinion fails to fully and properly analyze the appellate issues presented. In order to avoid future problems of this nature, it is highly recommended that the government entity spend the additional $3.70 to conform to the legislative intent as expressed in Wis. Stat. §§ 893.80(lg) and 990.001(13).

 Pool's daughter, Tamara Pool, did not sign the Certified Mail Receipt (PS Form 3800) and there is no place to accomplish that task on that document. Tamara signed the Domestic Return Receipt (PS Form 3811, August 2001).

 Wisconsin Stat. § 893.80(lg) uses the term "claimant" while the postal documents refer to "addressee." For purposes of this appeal, the terms are interchangeable.

 Information relating to current U.S. Postal Service charges can be verified by any postal clerk at any Wisconsin post office or at www.usps.com.

 Pool disputes that Tamara was authorized to act as his agent. Because we have determined that service was not accomplished, the agency issue is not addressed.