In the recent Agnew decision, the court had to decide on National Tinsel’s motion to dismiss. National Tinsel is an artificial snow company incorporated in Wisconsin which was being sued in New York. National Tinsel filed for corporate dissolution, which began in June 2021 when it was published for state-wide circulation. Per Wisconsin statute, this publication began the running of a 2-year period in which all claims must be filed, which would close on June 26, 2023. Plaintiffs in the New York action filed their second amended complaint June 22, 2023, which was the first time that National Tinsel became aware of the underlying lawsuit. National Tinsel made a motion to dismiss based on what they believed was service past the statute of limitations.
The issue presented was whether the case, which was operating under Wisconsin law in part, had to apply that law to all deadlines within the case. The plaintiffs filed the second amended complaint on June 14, 2023. The defendant argued that they were not served timely based on service in Wisconsin (it would need to be served on the corporation, not just filed). The New York court gave deference to the Wisconsin laws of incorporation and, subsequently, dissolution deadlines for National Tinsel. However, because the case was filed in New York, the court applied the New York service rules and deemed the second amended complaint timely served based on the electronic filing (which occurred 8 days prior to the expiration of the 2-year window). The court did mention that this decision was procedural in nature, rather than substantive (like the laws of incorporation).
Therefore, the second amended complaint was served within the statute of limitations and National Tinsel’s motion was denied.
Read the full decision here.