Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-911 – Service of process on unregistered foreign limited partnerships
(a) Any foreign limited partnership which shall do business in the State of Delaware without having registered under § 17-902 of this title shall be deemed to have thereby appointed and constituted the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware its agent for the acceptance of legal process in any civil action, suit or proceeding against it in any state or federal court in the State of Delaware arising or growing out of any business done by it within the State of Delaware. The doing of business in the State of Delaware by such foreign limited partnership shall be a signification of the agreement of such foreign limited partnership that any such process when so served shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon an authorized general partner or agent personally within the State of Delaware. Process may be served upon the Secretary of State under this subsection by means of electronic transmission but only as prescribed by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is authorized to issue such rules and regulations with respect to such service as the Secretary of State deems necessary or appropriate.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-911
- 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.
- Electronic transmission: means any form of communication not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, including the use of, or participation in, 1 or more electronic networks or databases (including 1 or more distributed electronic networks or databases), that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved and reviewed by a recipient thereof and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- Foreign limited partnership: includes a partnership formed under the laws of any state or under the laws of any foreign country or other foreign jurisdiction consisting of 2 or more persons and having 1 or more general partners and 1 or more limited partners. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- General partner: means a person who is named as a general partner in the certificate of limited partnership or similar instrument under which a limited partnership is formed if so required and who is admitted to the limited partnership as a general partner in accordance with the partnership agreement or this chapter, and includes a general partner of the limited partnership generally and a general partner associated with a series of the limited partnership. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- 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.
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- State: means the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any state, territory, possession, or other jurisdiction of the United States other than the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
(b) Whenever the words “doing business,” “the doing of business” or “business done in the State,” by any such foreign limited partnership are used in this section, they shall mean the course or practice of carrying on any business activities in the State of Delaware, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the solicitation of business or orders in the State of Delaware.
(c) In the event of service upon the Secretary of State in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of State shall forthwith notify the foreign limited partnership thereof by letter, directed to the foreign limited partnership at the address furnished to the Secretary of State by the plaintiff in such action, suit or proceeding. Such letter shall be sent by a mail or courier service that includes a record of mailing or deposit with the courier and a record of delivery evidenced by the signature of the recipient. Such letter shall enclose a copy of the process and any other papers served upon the Secretary of State. It shall be the duty of the plaintiff in the event of such service to serve process and any other papers in duplicate, to notify the Secretary of State that service is being made pursuant to this subsection, and to pay to the Secretary of State the sum of $50 for the use of the State of Delaware, which sum shall be taxed as part of the costs in the proceeding, if the plaintiff shall prevail therein. The Secretary of State shall maintain an alphabetical record of any such process 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, 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 5 years from receipt of the service of process.
63 Del. Laws, c. 420, § ?1; 65 Del. Laws, c. 188, § ?1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 288, §§ ?27, 28;