Any society authorized to do business in this state shall appoint in writing the director to be its attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against it may be served and shall agree in writing that any lawful process against it which is served on the attorney shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon the society and that the authority shall continue in force so long as any liability remains outstanding in this state. Copies of this appointment, certified by the director, are sufficient evidence of it and shall be admitted in evidence with the same force and effect as the original was admitted.

Service shall only be made upon the director, or if absent, upon the person in charge of the director’s office. It shall be made in duplicate and shall constitute sufficient service upon the society. If legal process against a society is served upon the director, the director shall immediately forward one of the duplicate copies by registered mail, prepaid, directed to the secretary or corresponding officer. No service may require a society to file its answer, pleading, or defense in less than thirty days from the date of mailing the copy of the service to a society. No legal process may be served upon a society except in the manner provided in this section. At the time of serving any process upon the director, the plaintiff, or complainant in the action shall pay to the director a fee as set forth in subsection 58-2-29(12)(c).

Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 58-37A-35

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Person: includes natural persons, partnerships, associations, cooperative corporations, limited liability companies, and corporations. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • State: when used in context signifying a jurisdiction other than the State of South Dakota, a state, the District of Columbia, a territory, commonwealth, or possession of the United States of America, or a province of the Dominion of Canada. See South Dakota Codified Laws 58-1-2

Source: SL 1990, ch 410, § 35.

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