Walsvik v. Brandel

PEDERSON, Justice.

This case raises for the first time in this court the question of whether or not the availability of “long-arm” service of process supersedes the tolling of statutes of limitation during a defendant’s absence from the state. We conclude that it does not.

In April 1978 Walsvik sued Brandel for “malpractice,” claiming, among other things, both compensatory and punitive damages arising from alleged tortious conduct that occurred in North Dakota in November 1969. Pursuant to Rule 4, NDRCivP, personal (long-arm) service was made upon Brandel in April 1978 in Minnesota, where he…