Iowa Code 453D.4 – Agent for service of process
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. A nonresident or foreign nonparticipating manufacturer that has not registered to do business in the state as a foreign corporation or business entity shall, as a condition precedent to having the nonparticipating manufacturer‘s brand family included or retained in the directory, appoint and continually engage without interruption the services of an agent in this state to act as agent for service of process on whom all process, and any action or proceeding against the nonparticipating manufacturer concerning or arising out of the enforcement of this chapter or chapter 453C, may be served in any manner authorized by law. The service shall constitute legal and valid service of process on the nonparticipating manufacturer. The nonparticipating manufacturer shall provide the name, address, telephone number, and proof of the appointment and availability of the agent to, and to the satisfaction of, the director and the attorney general.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 453D.4
- Brand family: means all styles of cigarettes sold under the same trademark and differentiated from one another by means of additional modifiers or descriptors, including but not limited to "menthol" "lights" "kings" and "100s" and including any brand name (alone or in conjunction with any other word), trademark, logo, symbol, motto, selling message, recognizable pattern of colors, or any other indicia of product identification identical or similar to, or identifiable with, a previously known brand of cigarettes. See Iowa Code 453D.2
- Business: means any trade, occupation, activity, or enterprise engaged in for the purpose of selling or distributing tobacco products in this state. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- 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.
- Director: means the director of revenue. See Iowa Code 453D.2
- Manufacturer: means a person who manufactures and sells tobacco products. See Iowa Code 453A.42
- Nonparticipating manufacturer: means any tobacco product manufacturer that is not a participating manufacturer. See Iowa Code 453D.2
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
2. The nonparticipating manufacturer shall provide notice to the director and the attorney general thirty calendar days prior to termination of the authority of an agent and shall further provide proof to the satisfaction of the attorney general of the appointment of a new agent at least five calendar days prior to the termination of the existing agent appointment. In the event an agent terminates an agency appointment, the nonparticipating manufacturer shall notify the director and the attorney general of the termination within five calendar days and shall include proof to the satisfaction of the attorney general of the appointment of a new agent.
3. A nonparticipating manufacturer whose products are sold in this state, who has not appointed or designated an agent as required, shall be deemed to have appointed the secretary of state as agent and may be proceeded against in the courts of this state by service of process upon the secretary of state. However, the appointment of the secretary of state as agent shall not satisfy the condition precedent for having the brand families of the nonparticipating manufacturer included or retained in the directory.