§ 7-16-50.1 - Service of process on foreign limited liability company.
SECTION 7-16-50.1
§ 7-16-50.1 Service of process on foreignlimited liability company. – (a) The resident agent appointed by a foreign limited liability companyauthorized to transact business in this state is an agent of the limitedliability company upon whom any process, notice, or demand required orpermitted by law to be served upon the corporation may be served.
(b) Whenever a foreign liability company authorized totransact business in this state fails to appoint or maintain a resident agentin this state, or whenever any resident agent cannot with reasonable diligencebe found at the registered office, or whenever the certificate of authority ofa foreign limited liability company is suspended or revoked, the secretary ofstate is an agent of the foreign limited liability company upon whom anyprocess, notice, or demand may be served. Service on the secretary of state ofany process, notice, or demand must be made by delivering to and leaving withhim or her, or with any clerk having charge of the corporation department ofhis or her office, duplicate copies of the process, notice, or demand. In theevent any process, notice, or demand is served on the secretary of state, thesecretary of state shall immediately forward one of the copies by registeredmail, addressed to the foreign limited liability company at its principaloffice if known to him or her, in the state or country under the laws of whichit was organized. Any service had in this manner on the secretary of state isreturnable in not less than thirty (30) days.
(c) Every foreign limited liability company as a conditionprecedent to carrying on business in this state must, and by so carrying onbusiness in this state does, consent that any process, including the process ofgarnishment, may be served upon the secretary of state in the manner providedby this section, except that notice of the service must be given by theplaintiff or his or her attorney in the manner as the court in which the actionis commenced or pending orders as affording the corporation reasonableopportunity to defend the action or to learn of the garnishment.Notwithstanding the preceding requirements, however, once service has been madeon the secretary of state as provided, the court has the authority in the eventof failure to comply with the requirement of notice to the foreign limitedliability company to order notice that is sufficient to apprise it of thependency of the action against it, and additionally, may extend the time foranswering by the foreign limited liability company.
(d) The secretary of state shall keep a record of allprocesses, notices, and demands served upon him or her under this section, andrecord in the record the time of the service and his or her action on it. Thesecretary of state shall not be required to retain such information for aperiod longer than five (5) years from receipt of the service of process.
(e) Nothing contained in these provisions limits or affectsthe right to serve any process, notice or demand, required or permitted by lawto be served upon a foreign limited liability company in any manner now orsubsequently permitted by law.