Virginia Code 38.2-1217: Reciprocal may be sued as such; where action or suit may be brought; upon whom service of process had.
A. Any reciprocal doing business in this Commonwealth may sue or be sued in the name or designation under which its insurance contracts are effected.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 38.2-1217
- Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
- City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
- Commission: means the State Corporation Commission. See Virginia Code 38.2-100
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Reciprocal: means the aggregation of subscribers under a common name. See Virginia Code 38.2-1201
B. Any action or suit against a reciprocal may be brought in any county or city (i) where its principal office is located, or (ii) where the cause of action or any part of the cause of action arose. If the action or suit is to recover a loss under a policy of insurance, it may also be brought in the county or city where the property insured was situated at the date of the policy. Any action or suit against a foreign or alien reciprocal may also be brought in any county or city of this Commonwealth in which it has any debts owed to it.
C. In an action or suit against a reciprocal, process against or notice to the reciprocal may be served upon the clerk of the Commission. If the defendant in the action or suit is a domestic reciprocal, process against or notice to that domestic reciprocal shall be served upon the attorney for that domestic reciprocal unless service upon that attorney is not feasible.
Code 1950, § 38-547; 1952, c. 317, § 38.1-707; 1986, c. 562.