Evans v. Holt

In Evans v. Holt, 193 W.Va. 578, 457 S.E.2d 515 (1995), service of process was attempted through the Secretary of State, and the return of the registered mail reflected that neither the corporation nor its listed agent received the complaint and summons: The Secretary of State informed the circuit court clerk that the original complaint and summons "in the name and on behalf of Casturo Transportation Service" had been returned from the post office marked "Returned For Better Address, INSUFFICIENT ADDRESS." (193 W.Va. at 582, 457 S.E.2d at 519.) The Court stated: "It is undisputed that service of process through the Secretary of State's office was never made on the actual Appellant Casturo in this case due to an insufficient address;" 193 W.Va. at 584, 457 S.E.2d at 521, and held at Syllabus Point 2: "Where a plaintiff seeks to obtain service of process on a nonresident defendant in accordance with the procedures outlined in West Virginia Code 56-3-31(e) (Supp. 1994), and where the registered or certified mail containing service of process is returned to the Secretary of State's Office showing thereon the stamp of the post office department that delivery was unable to be made due to the "Insufficient Address" of the addressee, then the plaintiff, provided no other action has been taken under said statutory provisions, has failed to serve the nonresident defendant with process in compliance with the statute."