§ 23-19-6-11 — Consent to service of process; conduct constituting agent for service of process; procedures; continuances

(a) An irrevocable consent to service of
process required by this article must be signed and filed in the form
required by a rule or order under this article. A consent appointing the
secretary of state as the person's agent for service of process in an
action or proceeding against the person, or the person's successor or
personal representative under this article or a rule adopted or order
issued under this article after the consent is filed, has the same force
and validity as if the service were made personally on the person filing
the consent. A person that has filed a consent complying with this
subsection in connection with a previous application for registration or
notice filing need not file an additional consent.
(b) If a person, including a nonresident of this state, engages in an
act, practice, or course of business prohibited or made actionable by
this article or a rule adopted or order issued under this article and the
person has not filed a consent to service of process under subsection
(a), the act, practice, or course of business constitutes the appointment
of the secretary of state as the person's agent for service of process in
an action or proceeding against the person or the person's successor or
personal representative.
(c) Service under subsection (a) or (b) may be made by providing a
copy of the process to the office of the secretary of state, but it is not
effective unless:
(1) the plaintiff, which may be the commissioner, promptly sends
notice of the service and a copy of the process, return receipt
requested, to the respondent at the address set forth in the consent
to service of process or, if a consent to service of process has not
been filed, at the last known address of the respondent, or takes
other reasonable steps to give notice; and
(2) the plaintiff files an affidavit of compliance with this
subsection in the action or proceeding on or before the return day
of the process, if any, or within the time that the court, or the
commissioner in a proceeding before the commissioner, allows.
(d) Service under subsection (c) may be used in a proceeding before
the commissioner or by the commissioner in a civil action in which the
commissioner is the moving party.
(e) If process is served under subsection (c), the court, or the
commissioner in a proceeding before the commissioner, shall order
continuances as are necessary or appropriate to afford the defendant or
respondent reasonable opportunity to defend.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.27-2007, SEC.23.