60-307. Service by publication.
60-307
60-307. Service by publication.(a) When permissible. Service may be made by publication in any ofthe following cases:
(1) In actions to obtain a divorce, maintenance or an annulment of thecontract of marriage if the defendant resides out of the state or if theparty with due diligence is unable to make service of summons upon thedefendant within the state.
(2) In actions brought against a person who is a nonresident of thestate or a foreign corporation having in this state property or debts owingto the person sought to be taken by any of provisional remedies or to beappropriated in any way.
(3) In actions which relate to or the subject of which is real orpersonal property in this state, if any defendant has or claims a lienor interest, vested or contingent, in the property, or the relief demandedconsists wholly or partly in excluding the defendant from any interest inthe property, or in actions for partition or for foreclosure of a lien, ifthe defendant is a nonresident of the state or a foreign corporation or ifthe party with due diligence is unable to make service of summons upon thedefendant within the state.
(4) In all actions in which the defendant, being a resident of thisstate, has departed from this state or from the county of the defendant'sresidence, with the intent to delay or defraud creditors or to avoid theservice of a summons, or hides in the state or county with that intent, orin an action against a domestic corporation which has not been legallydissolved, if the officers thereof have departed from the state or cannotbe found.
(5) In any of the actions mentioned in this subsection, publicationservice may be had on any of the following who are made defendants as such:The unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees, trustees, creditorsand assigns of any deceased defendants; the unknown spouses of anydefendants; the unknown officers, successors, trustees, creditors andassigns of any defendants that are existing, dissolved or dormantcorporations; the unknown executors, administrators, devisees, trustees,creditors, successors and assigns of any defendants that are or werepartners or in partnership; the unknown guardians, conservators andtrustees of any defendants that are minors or are under any legaldisability; and the unknown heirs, executors, administrators, devisees,trustees, creditors and assigns of any person alleged to be deceased.
(b) Construction and effect. The process provisions of thissection shall be construed as separate and permissive methods of obtainingservice. If the defendant served in accordance with this section does notappear, judgment may be rendered affecting the property, res orstatus within the jurisdiction of the court as to the defendant, but theservice shall not warrant a personal judgment against the defendant.
(c) Affidavit for service by publication. Before service bypublication as provided in this section can be made, one of the parties orthe party's attorney shall file an affidavit stating any of the followingfacts that are applicable:
(1) The residences of all named defendants sought to be served, ifknown, and the names of all defendants whose residences are unknownafter reasonable effort to ascertain the same.
(2) The affiant has made a reasonable but unsuccessful effort toascertain the names and residences of any defendants sought to be served asunknown parties in accordance with subsection (a)(5).
(3) The party seeking service by publication is unable to procureservice of summons on the defendants in this state.
(4) The case is one of those mentioned in clauses (1) through (4) ofsubsection (a).
The affidavit shall be deemedsufficient if in substantial compliance with the form set forth by the judicialcouncil.
When the affidavit is filed, service may proceed by publication.
(d) Publication; form of notice; description of property, when.The notice shall be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in somenewspaper published in the county where the petition is filed and whichnewspaper is authorized by law to publish legal notices. If there is nonewspaper published in the county, the notice may be published in anewspaper having general circulation in the county. The notice must namethe defendants to be served and notify them and all other persons who areor may be concerned that the defendants have been sued in a named court andmust answer or plead otherwise to the petition, or other pleading, filed inthe court, on or before a date to be stated, which date shall be not lessthan 41 days from the date the notice is first published, or the petitionor other pleading filed will be taken as true, and judgment, the nature ofwhich shall be stated, will be rendered accordingly.
The notice shall be deemedsufficient if in substantial compliance with the form set forth by the judicialcouncil.
Where the action affects property, the notice need not expresslydescribe the property, unless the description is otherwise required bylaw, but the property may be identified by reference to the pleading.
(e) Mailing copy of notice. The party seeking to secure service bypublication shall, within seven days after the first publication, maila copy of the publication notice to each defendant whose address is statedin the affidavit for service by publication.
(f) When service complete. Service by publication shall be deemedcomplete when it has been made in the manner and for the timeprescribed in subsections (d) and (e), and the service shallbe proved. No judgment by default shall be entered on the service untilproof of service is made, approved by the court and filed.
History: L. 1963, ch. 303, 60-307;L. 1965, ch. 355, § 1;L. 1970, ch. 232, § 2;L. 1982, ch. 152, § 22;L. 1990, ch. 202, § 8;L. 1994, ch. 68, § 3;L. 2005, ch. 101, § 11; July 1.