Certain-Teed Products Corp. v. Second Judicial District Court

479 P.2d 781, 87 Nev. 18, 1971 Nev. LEXIS 337
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 26, 1971
Docket6404
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 479 P.2d 781 (Certain-Teed Products Corp. v. Second Judicial District Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Certain-Teed Products Corp. v. Second Judicial District Court, 479 P.2d 781, 87 Nev. 18, 1971 Nev. LEXIS 337 (Neb. 1971).

Opinion

OPINION

By the Court,

Thompson, J.:

This petition for a writ of prohibition challenges the service of process upon a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in Nevada, but who had supplied roofing materials for use in the construction of a warehouse at Sparks, Nevada. Process was purportedly served upon the petitioner pursuant to *20 NRS 14.065. This proceeding does not concern provisions for the service of process upon a foreign corporation doing business in Nevada [NRS 14.020; NRS 14.030; NRCP 4(d)(2)], nor does it concern NRS 14.080, since service was not attempted under that statute.

The petitioner, Certain-Teed Products, is a foreign corporation not qualified to do business in Nevada, and one of several defendants to an action commenced by S. S. Kresge Company. Certain-Teed moved the district court to quash service of process for want of jurisdiction and because service was not made upon an authorized person. Its motion was denied. This proceeding seeks to preclude the district court from further considering Kresge’s claim for relief against the petitioner.

This case arose out of the construction of a warehouse for Kresge by the McKenzie Construction Company. McKenzie, certain subcontractors and suppliers are the defendants. Insofar as Certain-Teed is concerned, the amended complaint of Kresge alleges that McKenzie contracted with Yancy Company to provide the roof; that Yancy contracted with Certain-Teed to supply the roofing materials; that Certain-Teed warranted the materials to be of good quality, and breached its warranty to the damage of Kresge in the sum of $500,000 which Kresge is entitled to recover as the third party beneficiary of the mentioned contracts.

A deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, gave his affidavit that he served process upon Certain-Teed by handing “a true and correct copy of Amended Summons and Amended Complaint to Mr. DeLong, Chief Legal Counsellor, at 120 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, Montgomery County, Pa.”

1. NRS 14.065, among other things, purports to give a Nevada court personal jurisdiction over a party outside of Nevada as to any cause of action which arises from “transacting any business within this state. 1 A method for serving process *21 is designated. A copy of the summons together with a copy of the complaint is to be delivered to the party “in the manner provided by statute or rule of court for service upon a person of like kind within this state.”

Although the language is obscure, we must give it effect if possible. The phrase “a person of like kind within this state,” in this instance, must mean a domestic corporation. Rule 4(d) (1) designates the manner in which a domestic corporation is served. 2 This means that a foreign corporation, not qualified to do business in Nevada, but alleged to have transacted business here, may be served with process under NRS 14.065 by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint in the foreign jurisdiction to the president or other head of the corporation, secretary, cashier, managing agent, or resident agent thereof. The legislative purpose was to require personal service of process outside this state to afford actual notice of the pending litigation. Cf. Gambs v. Morgenthaler, 83 Nev. 90, 423 P.2d 670 (1967). This satisfies the requirements of procedural due process since no more certain provision for the defendant’s receipt of actual notice could be made than through personal service. Mizner v. Mizner, 84 Nev. 268, 272, 439 P.2d 679 (1968). Substituted service is not provided for by NRS 14.065. 3

*22 As already noted, it does not appear from the deputy sheriff’s return of service that process was served upon one of the persons authorized by the rule to be served. Service was made upon the chief legal counsellor. Whether that individual was also the president, secretary, cashier, managing agent, or resident agent of Certain-Teed does not appear from the return or from other competent proof. 4 Accordingly, the district court erred in refusing to quash service. We presume, however, that competent proof of the capacity of the chief legal counsellor will be supplied, or that service will hereafter be made, and, therefore, turn to other points raised by this petition for prohibition.

2. The petitioner next contends that neither the amended complaint nor the affidavit which was filed in support of the order authorizing service of process outside the State of Nevada contains a sufficient statement of facts to warrant service of process or confer jurisdiction on the trial court. However, neither NRS 14.065 nor NRCP 4(d)(1) requires an affidavit or order as a prerequisite to service of process. The amended complaint does state a claim for relief against the petitioner within the framework of NRS 14.065 when tested by the rules generally applicable to pleadings. NRCP 8 (a). A more detailed statement of facts is not required and a failure to allege that the contract was made in Nevada is not essential. The pleading is adequate to place the claim for relief within NRS 14.065 (2) (a). It is noted that NRCP 12(b) (2) provides an opportunity for any out-of-state defendant to secure a pretrial determination of jurisdiction over his person and thus protects such parties against harassment from ill conceived and “shotgun type” law suits. The petitioner chose not to make any factual showing in support of its motion to quash that the business transacted by it in Nevada was insufficient to confer jurisdiction over it. No factual issue on that score has been presented to the trial court to be resolved.

3. The motion to quash service also was grounded upon *23 want of jurisdiction. The petitioner argues that considerations of substantive due process place Certain-Teed beyond the reach of the long arm of NRS 14.065.

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Bluebook (online)
479 P.2d 781, 87 Nev. 18, 1971 Nev. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/certain-teed-products-corp-v-second-judicial-district-court-nev-1971.