St. John's Lutheran Church, Washburn Park v. County of Hennepin
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Citation treatment has not been reviewed for this case. The notes below come from the citation graph and the Minnesota Revisor's amendment records, not from a review of how later courts treated this decision.
(as of 9/30/2026)
Last cited by a Minnesota appellate court in 1986, among the opinions in this site’s citation index. Amendment history from the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. A later amendment does not necessarily affect this decision's analysis — check the current statute text.Cites Minnesota statutes amended since this decision
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Cases that cite this one
2 later published cases cite this decision.
- Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart v. Department of Revenue (Ill. App. Ct. 1987)
- Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Inc. v. County of Hennepin (Minn. 1986)
This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.
Opinion
After the Minneapolis City Assessor’s office notified St. John’s Lutheran Church that it had decided to deny tax exempt status to a duplex adjacent to the church, the church petitioned the Tax Court to grant exemption under Minn.Stat. § 272.02, subd. 1(5) (1984). The Tax Court determined that the duplex did not qualify for the exemption. We reverse.
St. John’s Lutheran Church, located at 9 West Rustic Lodge Avenue in Minneapolis, owns a duplex next door to and 30 feet away from the church sanctuary. Each of the duplex units is occupied by a married couple who work for the church in exchange for their use of an apartment. One couple does custodial work and provides access to the church after the doors are locked at 5 p.m. They also inspect the church each night and watch the sanctuary to prevent vandalism and burglaries. 1 The couple occupying the other unit include the director of church music, the church liturgist, and the director of Christian education at the church.
As we concluded in Victory Lutheran Church v. County of Hennepin, 373 N.W.2d 279, released herewith, the record *282 here requires our conclusion that the duplex being so used is exempt from taxation under Minn.Stat. § 272.02, subd. 1(5) (1984) because it is devoted to and reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of church purposes.
Reversed.
. The church, perhaps because of the propinquity of having both the Ramsey Junior High and Washburn High schools within a block and one-half, has experienced in recent years problems with vandalism. The church likewise has been burglarized three times since 1982.
Case-law data current through September 30, 2026. Source: CourtListener bulk data.