31A-2-310.  Procedure for service of process through state officer.

(1)  Service upon the commissioner or lieutenant governor under Section 31A-2-309 is service on the principal, if:

Terms Used In Utah Code 31A-2-310

  • Certificate: means evidence of insurance given to:
(a) an insured under a group insurance policy; or
(b) a third party. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Person: includes :
    (a) an individual;
    (b) a partnership;
    (c) a corporation;
    (d) an incorporated or unincorporated association;
    (e) a joint stock company;
    (f) a trust;
    (g) a limited liability company;
    (h) a reciprocal;
    (i) a syndicate; or
    (j) another similar entity or combination of entities acting in concert. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Proceeding: includes an action or special statutory proceeding. See Utah Code 31A-1-301
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • 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 a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • (a)  the following are delivered personally or to the office of the official designated in Section 31A-2-309:

    (i)  two copies of the process to be served; and

    (ii)  a certificate of proof of service that meets the requirements of Subsection (3), dated and signed by the official designated in Section 31A-2-309; and

    (b)  that official mails a copy of the process to the person to be served according to Subsection (2)(b).
  • (2) 

    (a)  The commissioner and the lieutenant governor shall give receipts for and keep records of all process served through them.

    (b)  The commissioner or the lieutenant governor shall immediately send by certified mail one copy of the process received to the person to be served at that person’s last known principal place of business, residence, or post-office address. The commissioner or the lieutenant governor shall retain the other copy for his files.

    (c)  No plaintiff or complainant may take a judgment by default in any proceeding in which process is served under this section and Section 31A-2-309 until the expiration of 40 days from the date of service of process under Subsection (2)(b).

    (3)  Proof of service shall be evidenced by a certificate by the official designated in Section 31A-2-309, showing service made upon him and mailing by him, and attached to a copy of the process presented to him for that purpose.

    (4)  When process is served under this section, the words “twenty days” in the first sentence of Rule 12(a) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure shall be changed to read “forty days.”

    Amended by Chapter 194, 2023 General Session