Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-121. Service of process, notice, or demand
(a) A limited partnership or registered foreign limited partnership may be served with any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law by serving its registered agent.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-121
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
- Foreign limited partnership: means an unincorporated entity formed under the law of a jurisdiction other than this state which would be a limited partnership if formed under the law of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-102
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Registered agent: means an agent of a limited partnership or foreign limited partnership which is authorized to receive service of any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served on the partnership. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-102
- Registered foreign limited partnership: means a foreign limited partnership that is registered to do business in this state pursuant to a statement of registration filed by the secretary of state. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-102
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 7-13.1-102
(b) If a limited partnership or registered foreign limited partnership fails to appoint or maintain a registered agent in this state, or whenever its registered agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at the registered office, then the secretary of state is an agent of the limited partnership or registered foreign limited partnership upon whom any process, notice, or demand may be served. Service on the secretary of state of any process, notice, or demand is made by delivering to and leaving with the secretary of state or with any clerk having charge of the corporation department of the office, duplicate copies of the process, notice, or demand. In the event any process, notice, or demand is served on the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall immediately forward one of the copies by certified mail, addressed to the limited partnership or registered foreign limited partnership at its registered office. Any service upon the secretary of state is returnable in not less than thirty (30) days.
(c) The secretary of state shall maintain a record of any such service setting forth the name of the plaintiff and defendant, the title, docket number and nature of the proceeding in which process has been served upon the secretary of state, the fact that service has been effected pursuant to this section, the return date thereof, and the day and hour when the service was made. The secretary of state shall not be required to retain such information for a period longer than five (5) years from receipt of the service of process.
(d) Service of process, notice, or demand on a registered agent must be in a written record.
(e) Service of process, notice, or demand may be made by other means under law other than this chapter.
History of Section.
P.L. 2022, ch. 121, § 2, effective January 1, 2023; P.L. 2022, ch. 122, § 2, effective January 1, 2023; P.L. 2023, ch. 395, art. 1, § 3, effective December 31, 2023.