Bill Text: VA HB794 | 2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Statutory agents; service of process.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-04 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0454) [HB794 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB794-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§8.01-285, 8.01-287, 8.01-296, 8.01-299, 8.01-301, 8.01-304, 8.01-306, 8.01-310 through 8.01-313, and 12.1-19.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 8.01-304.1 as follows:
§8.01-285. Definition of certain terms used in this chapter; process, return, statutory agent.
For the purposes of As used in this chapter,
unless the context requires a different meaning:
1. The term "process" shall be deemed to include notice;
2. The term "return" shall be deemed to include the term "proof of service";
3. The term "statutory agent" means (i) the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the successors of either, when appointed pursuant to law for the purpose of service of process on the nonresident defined in subdivision 2 of §8.01-307 or (ii) the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, when appointed pursuant to law for the purpose of service of process on any individual, corporation, limited partnership, or other entity under § 12.1-19.1, as the context may require; and
4. The term "person" includes an individual, his executor, administrator, or other personal representative, or a corporation, partnership, association or any other legal or commercial entity, whether or not a citizen or domiciliary of the Commonwealth and whether or not organized under the laws of the Commonwealth.
§8.01-287. How process to be served.
Upon commencement of an action, process shall be served in the manner set forth in this chapter or as specified elsewhere in the Code and by the Rules of the Supreme Court.
§8.01-296. Manner of serving process upon natural persons.
Subject In addition to any other manner of service
upon natural persons prescribed elsewhere in the Code, and subject to the
provisions of §8.01-286.1, in any action at law or in equity or any other
civil proceeding in any court, process, for which no particular mode of service
is prescribed, may be served upon natural persons as follows:
1. By delivering a copy thereof in writing to the party in person; or
2. By substituted service in the following manner:
a. If the party to be served is not found at his usual place of abode, by delivering a copy of such process and giving information of its purport to any person found there, who is a member of his family, other than a temporary sojourner or guest, and who is of the age of 16 years or older; or
b. If such service cannot be effected under subdivision 2 a, then by posting a copy of such process at the front door or at such other door as appears to be the main entrance of such place of abode, provided that not less than 10 days before judgment by default may be entered, the party causing service or his attorney or agent mails to the party served a copy of such process and thereafter files in the office of the clerk of the court a certificate of such mailing. In any civil action brought in a general district court, the mailing of the application for a warrant in debt or affidavit for summons in unlawful detainer or other civil pleading or a copy of such pleading, whether yet issued by the court or not, which contains the date, time and place of the return, prior to or after filing such pleading in the general district court, shall satisfy the mailing requirements of this section. In any civil action brought in a circuit court, the mailing of a copy of the pleadings with a notice that the proceedings are pending in the court indicated and that upon the expiration of 10 days after the giving of the notice and the expiration of the statutory period within which to respond, without further notice, the entry of a judgment by default as prayed for in the pleadings may be requested, shall satisfy the mailing requirements of this section and any notice requirement of the Rules of Court. Any judgment by default entered after July 1, 1989, upon posted service in which proceedings a copy of the pleadings was mailed as provided for in this section prior to July 1, 1989, is validated.
c. The person executing such service shall note the manner and the date of such service on the original and the copy of the process so delivered or posted under this subdivision and shall effect the return of process as provided in §§8.01-294 and 8.01-325.
3. If service cannot be effected under subdivisions 1 and 2, then by order of publication in appropriate cases under the provisions of §§ 8.01-316 through 8.01-320.
4. The landlord or his duly authorized agent or representative may serve notices required by the rental agreement or by law upon the tenant or occupant under a rental agreement that is within the purview of Chapter 14 (§ 55.1-1400 et seq.) of Title 55.1.
§8.01-299. How process served on domestic stock corporations, nonstock corporations, and limited liability companies generally.
Except as prescribed in §8.01-300 as to municipal and quasi-governmental corporations, and subject to §8.01-286.1, process may be served on a domestic stock corporation, nonstock corporation, or limited liability company created by the laws of the Commonwealth as follows:
1. By personal service on any officer, director, or registered agent of any such corporation or on the registered agent of such limited liability company;
2. By substituted service on stock corporations in accordance with §13.1-637, on nonstock corporations in accordance with §13.1-836, and on limited liability companies in accordance with §13.1-1018; or
3. If the address of the registered office of the corporation or limited liability company is a single-family residential dwelling, by substituted service on the registered agent of the corporation or limited liability company in the manner provided by subdivision 2 of §8.01-296.
This section does not prescribe the only means, or necessarily the required means, of serving a domestic stock or nonstock corporation or limited liability company.
§8.01-301. How process served on foreign stock or nonstock corporations and foreign limited liability companies generally.
Subject to §8.01-286.1, service of process on a foreign stock or nonstock corporation or a foreign limited liability company may be effected in the following manner:
1. By personal service on any officer, or
director or on the registered agent of a foreign stock or nonstock
corporation which that is authorized to do business in the
Commonwealth, and by personal service on any agent of a any
such foreign corporation transacting business in the Commonwealth without
such authorization, wherever any such officer, director, or agents be found
within the Commonwealth, and by personal service on the registered agent of
a foreign limited liability company that is registered to do business in the
Commonwealth;
2. By substituted service on (i) a foreign stock or nonstock corporation in accordance with §§13.1-766 and 13.1-928, respectively, and on a foreign limited liability company in accordance with § 13.1-1018, if any such corporation or limited liability company is authorized or registered to transact business or affairs within the Commonwealth, and (ii) a foreign stock or nonstock corporation in accordance with subsection F of §13.1-758 and subsection E of §13.1-920, respectively, and on a foreign limited liability company in accordance with subsection E of § 13.1-1057, if any such corporation or limited liability company is not authorized or registered to transact business within the Commonwealth;
3. By substituted service on a foreign stock or nonstock corporation or foreign limited liability company in accordance with § 8.01-329, or by service in accordance with §8.01-320, where jurisdiction is authorized under §8.01-328.1, regardless of whether any such foreign corporation or foreign limited liability company is authorized or registered to transact business within the Commonwealth; or
4. By order of publication in accordance with §§8.01-316 and 8.01-317 where jurisdiction in rem or quasi in rem is authorized, regardless of whether the foreign stock or nonstock corporation or foreign limited liability company so served is authorized or registered to transact business within the Commonwealth.
This section does not prescribe the only means, or necessarily the required means, of serving a foreign stock or nonstock corporation or foreign limited liability company.
§8.01-304. How process served on copartner or partnership, domestic or foreign limited liability partnership, and domestic or foreign limited partnership.
A. Subject to §8.01-286.1, process against a copartner or partnership may be served upon a general partner, and it shall be deemed service upon the partnership and upon each partner individually named in the action, provided the person served is not a plaintiff in the suit and provided the matter in suit is a partnership matter.
Provided further that process may be served upon a limited partner in any proceeding to enforce a limited partner's liability to the partnership.
B. A domestic or foreign limited liability partnership may also be served by personal service on its registered agent as provided in § 50-73.135 and by substituted service in accordance with subsection B of § 50-73.129, subsection F of §50-73.134, subsection G of §50-73.135, or § 50-73.140, as applicable.
C. A domestic or foreign limited partnership may also be served by personal service on its registered agent as provided in subsection A of §50-73.7 and by substituted service in accordance with subsection B of § 50-73.7, subsection D of §50-73.58, subsection C of §50-73.58:1, subsection D of §50-73.58:2, or subsection E of §50-73.59, as applicable.
§8.01-304.1. How process served on a business trust.
A domestic or foreign business trust may be served by personal service on its registered agent as provided in subsection A of § 13.1-1223 and by substituted service in accordance with subsection B of § 13.1-1223 or subsection E of §13.1-1247.
§8.01-306. Process against unincorporated associations or orders, or unincorporated common carriers; principal office outside Virginia and business transactions in Virginia.
Subject to §8.01-286.1, if an unincorporated (i) association,
(ii) order, or (iii) common carrier has its principal office outside Virginia
and transacts business or affairs in the Commonwealth, process may be served on
any officer, trustee, director, staff member, or agent of such association,
order, or carrier in the city or county in which he may be found or on the
clerk Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, who shall be deemed
by virtue of such transaction of business or affairs in the Commonwealth to
have been appointed statutory agent of such association, order, or carrier upon
whom may be made service of process in accordance with §12.1-19.1. Service,
when duly made, shall constitute sufficient foundation for a personal judgment
against such association, order, or carrier. If service may not be had
as aforesaid, then on affidavit of that fact an order of publication may be
awarded as provided by §§8.01-316 and 8.01-317.
§8.01-310. How service made on Commissioner, Secretary, and Clerk; appointment binding.
A. Service of process on the Clerk of the State Corporation
Commission as a statutory agent authorized by law to receive service of process
on behalf of any natural person, corporation, or other entity is governed by §
12.1-19.1. Service of process on either the Commissioner of the Department of
Motor Vehicles as authorized under §8.01-308 or on the Secretary of the
Commonwealth as authorized under §8.01-309 shall be made by the plaintiff or
his agent or the sheriff leaving a copy of such process together with the fee
for service of process on parties, in the amount prescribed in §2.2-409, for
each party to be thus served, in the hands, or in the office, of the
Commissioner or the Secretary, and such service. Service on the
statutory agent shall be deemed sufficient upon the nonresident
person or entity served and shall be effective on the date when service is
made on the Commissioner or the Secretary pursuant to this subsection or on
the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission pursuant to subsection A of §
12.1-19.1, provided, however, that the time to respond to process sent by the
Commissioner, Secretary, or Clerk as statutory agent is governed by subsection
C of §8.01-312. All fees collected by the Commissioner pursuant to the
provisions of this section shall be paid into the state treasury and shall be
set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the expenses of the Department
of Motor Vehicles.
B. Appointment of the Commissioner or Secretary as attorney or agent for the service of process on a nonresident under §8.01-308 or 8.01-309 shall be irrevocable and binding upon the executor or other personal representative of such nonresident, and:
1. Where a nonresident has died before the commencement of an action against him regarding an accident or collision under §8.01-308 or 8.01-309, such appointment shall be irrevocable and binding upon the executor or other personal representative of such nonresident; or
2. Where a nonresident dies after the commencement of an action against him regarding an accident or collision under §8.01-308 or 8.01-309, the action shall continue and such appointment shall be irrevocable and binding upon his executor, administrator, or other personal representative with such additional notice of the pendency of the action as the court deems proper.
C. The provisions of subsection B apply, mutatis mutandis, to actions in which a natural person served with process through the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as his agent has died before or after the commencement of the action.
§8.01-311. Continuance of action where service made on Commissioner, Secretary, and Clerk.
The court, in which an action is pending against a nonresident growing out of an accident or collision as specified in §§8.01-308 and 8.01-309, or in an action pending against a person or entity served with process through the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as statutory agent pursuant to §12.1-19.1, may order such continuances as necessary to afford such nonresident, person, or entity reasonable opportunity to defend the action.
§8.01-312. Effect of service on statutory agent; duties of such agent; time for responding to process.
A. Service of process on the statutory agent shall have the same legal force and validity as if served within the Commonwealth personally upon the person for whom it is intended. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Secretary of the Commonwealth as statutory agent to:
1. Provide a receipt to a party seeking service who serves process on the statutory agent by hand delivery or any other method that does not provide a return of service or other means showing the date on which service on the statutory agent was accomplished. The party seeking service shall be responsible for filing such receipt in the office of the clerk of court in which the action is pending;
2. Forthwith send by registered or certified mail, with return receipt requested, a copy of the process to the person named therein and for whom the statutory agent is receiving the process; and
3. File an affidavit of compliance with this section with the papers in the action; this filing shall be made in the office of the clerk of the court in which the action is pending.
A1. The duties of the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as statutory agent are governed by §12.1-19.1.
B. Unless otherwise provided by §8.01-313 and subject to the provisions of §8.01-316, the address for the mailing of the process required by this section by the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall be that as provided by the party seeking service. The address for mailing the process served on the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission is specified in subsection D of §12.1-19.1.
C. The time for a nonresident to respond to process sent by the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Secretary of the Commonwealth as statutory agent shall run from the date when the affidavit of compliance is filed in the office of the clerk of the court in which the action is pending. The time for a person, corporation, or other entity to respond to process sent by the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as statutory agent shall run from the date when the certificate of compliance is filed as required by subsection B of §12.1-19.1.
§8.01-313. Specific addresses for mailing by statutory agent and resident agent.
A. For the statutory agent appointed pursuant to §§8.01-308 and 8.01-309, the address for the mailing of the process as required by § 8.01-312 shall be the last known address of the nonresident or, where appropriate under subdivision B 1 or 2 of §8.01-310, of the executor, administrator, or other personal representative of the nonresident. However, upon the filing of an affidavit by the plaintiff that he does not know and is unable with due diligence to ascertain any post-office address of such nonresident, service of process on the statutory agent shall be sufficient without the mailing otherwise required by this section. Provided further that:
1. In the case of a nonresident defendant licensed by the Commonwealth to operate a motor vehicle, the last address reported by such defendant to the Department of Motor Vehicles as his address on an application for or renewal of driving privileges shall be deemed to be the address of the defendant for the purpose of the mailing required by this section if no other address is known, and, in any case in which the affidavit provided for in § 8.01-316 is filed, such a defendant, by so notifying the Department of such an address, and by failing to notify the Department of any change therein, shall be deemed to have appointed the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles his statutory agent for service of process in an action arising out of operation of a motor vehicle by him in the Commonwealth, and to have accepted as valid service such mailing to such address; or
2. In the case of a nonresident defendant not licensed by the Commonwealth to operate a motor vehicle, the address shown on the copy of the report of accident required by §46.2-372 filed by or for him with the Department, and on file at the office of the Department, or the address reported by such a defendant to any state or local police officer, or sheriff investigating the accident sued on, if no other address is known, shall be conclusively presumed to be a valid address of such defendant for the purpose of the mailing provided for in this section, and his so reporting of an incorrect address, or his moving from the address so reported without making provision for forwarding to him of mail directed thereto, shall be deemed to be a waiver of notice and a consent to and acceptance of service of process served upon the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles as provided in this section.
B. For the statutory agent appointed pursuant to §64.2-1426,
the address for the mailing of process as required by §8.01-312 shall be the
address of the fiduciary's statutory agent as contained in the written consent
most recently filed with the clerk of the circuit court wherein the
qualification of such fiduciary was had or, in the event of the death, removal,
resignation, or absence from the Commonwealth of such statutory
agent, or in the event that such statutory agent cannot with due diligence be
found at such address, the address of the clerk of such circuit court.
C. The address and procedures for the mailing of process by the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as statutory agent are governed by §12.1-19.1.
§12.1-19.1. Service of process on the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission as statutory agent.
A. Whenever by statute the clerk Clerk of the
Commission is appointed or deemed to have been appointed the agent of any
individual, corporation, limited partnership or other entity for the purpose of
service of any process, notice, order or demand, except one issued by the
Commission, service on the clerk Clerk shall be made by leaving
two copies of the process for each defendant, together with the fee or fees
specified in subsection G of this section, in the office of the clerk
Clerk of the Commission. The party seeking service shall recite the statute
or other authority pursuant to which process is being served and shall include
the mailing address of the defendant in accordance with subsection D or
subsection F of this section. Such service shall be deemed
sufficient upon the person or entity being served and shall be effective on the
date when service is made on the Clerk under this subsection, provided,
however, that the time for such person or entity to respond to process sent by
the Clerk shall run from the date when the certificate of compliance is filed
as required by subsection B.
B. The clerk Clerk or any of his staff shall
forthwith mail the process to the defendant at the address supplied by the
party seeking service and shall keep a record thereof. The clerk
Clerk shall file a certificate of compliance with the requirements of this
section with the other papers in the proceeding giving rise to the
service.
C. Any process, notice, order or demand issued by the
Commission shall be served by being mailed by the clerk Clerk of
the Commission or any of his staff to (i) the registered agent at his office
address on record with the Commission or, if no such agent or address is on
record with the Commission, then (ii) the defendant at the address specified in
subsection D or provided pursuant to subsection F of this section. The
clerk Clerk shall keep a record of any such service.
D. The address for the mailing of process pursuant to this section shall be the address on record with the Commission, as follows:
1. The principal office address of a domestic corporation, or, if no such address is on record with the Commission, the address of any officer or director of the corporation.
2. The principal office address of a foreign corporation authorized to transact business in Virginia, or, if no such address is on record with the Commission, the address of any officer or director of the corporation, or, in case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth, the address shown in the application for withdrawal or any change thereto.
3. The principal office address of a limited partnership on record with the Commission pursuant to the Virginia Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act (§50-73.1 et seq.), or, if no such address is on record with the Commission, the address of any general partner or the address listed in a foreign limited partnership's certificate of cancellation or any change thereto.
4. The principal office address of a domestic limited liability company or business trust.
5. The principal office address of a foreign limited liability company or business trust registered to transact business in Virginia, or, in case of cancellation pursuant to §13.1-1056 or 13.1-1246, the address shown in the application for a certificate of cancellation or any change thereto.
6. If the defendant is an individual or entity other
than one specified in subdivision subdivisions 1, 2, or 3 of
this subsection through 5, the address set forth in any document on
record with the Commission which that is required or permitted to
be filed by or on behalf of the defendant.
E. Except as provided in subsection F of this section,
the names and addresses as last filed with the Commission pursuant to law shall
be conclusive for the purpose of service of process.
F. Whenever the party or bureau or division of the Commission seeking service has knowledge of a defendant's current address which differs from that on record with the Commission he may, and, in the event the Commission does not have a record of the defendant's address he shall, provide the latest known mailing address of the defendant.
G. The clerk Clerk of the Commission shall
charge and collect at the time of any service of process on him as statutory
agent, thirty dollars for each defendant named in the process, which amount may
be recovered as taxable costs by the party to the proceeding giving rise to
such service if such party prevails in the proceeding.
2. That §8.01-326.1 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.
