(a) Every society authorized to do business in this state shall appoint in writing the commissioner and each successor in the office of commissioner to be its true and lawful attorney upon whom all lawful process in any action or proceeding against it shall be served, and shall agree in the 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 the appointment, certified by the commissioner, shall be deemed sufficient evidence thereof and shall be admitted in evidence with the same force and effect as the original thereof might be admitted.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 56-25-701
Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
Attorney: means the person designated and authorized by subscribers as the attorney-in-fact having authority to obligate them on reciprocal insurance contracts. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
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: means any association, aggregate of individuals, business, company, corporation, individual, joint-stock company, Lloyds-type organization, organization, partnership, receiver, reciprocal or interinsurance exchange, trustee or society. See Tennessee Code 56-16-102
Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
Society: means fraternal benefit society, unless otherwise indicated. See Tennessee Code 56-25-104
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) Service shall only be made upon the commissioner, or if absent, upon the person in charge of the commissioner’s office. It shall be made in duplicate and shall constitute sufficient service upon the society. When legal process against a society is served upon the commissioner, the commissioner shall forthwith forward one (1) of the duplicate copies by registered mail, prepaid, directed to the secretary or corresponding officer. No such service shall require a society to file its answer, pleading or defense in less than thirty (30) days from the date of mailing the copy of the service to the society. Legal process shall not be served upon a society except in the manner herein provided. At the time of serving any process upon the commissioner, the plaintiff or complainant in the action shall pay to the commissioner a fee of ten dollars ($10.00).
