Opinion ID: 1971410
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: When Allowed How Made.

Text: Service other than by personal delivery or registered mail, upon a domiciliary or resident or one who maintains his principal place of business in this State, may be made under the following circumstances: When proof is made by affidavit that a defendant has acted to evade service, the court may order that service be made by mailing a copy of the summons together with a copy of the original pleading to the defendant at his last known residence and delivering a copy of each to a person of suitable age and discretion at the place of business, dwelling house or usual place of abode of the defendant within the State. The order requested by the Plaintiff was entered on November 7, 1980, and we shall assume, arguendo, that the facts set forth in the supporting affidavit were sufficient to find that the Defendant had acted to evade service. In compliance with the further procedural step of mailing ... to the defendant at his last known residence, the suit papers were sent by ordinary mail, postmarked November 10, 1980, to the Defendant at the Nowell address. That mailing was returned marked moved, left no address. To comply with the requirement of delivering ... to a person of suitable age and discretion at the ... dwelling house or usual place of abode of the defendant, Plaintiff employed a private process server in Orlando, whose affidavits reflect the following. She was engaged around April of 1981 to serve the Defendant at 527 Noel. At what she believed was that address there were two houses on a single lot, one in front and one to the rear. When she first attempted service there, no one was home at the house in front, and she obtained the name and address of the landlord from a Ms. Vicky Nance at the rear house. Ms. Nance was not sure about a Lillian Kaufman. The process server then spoke with the landlord, Mrs. Charles Howard, who lived nearby. The affidavit describes their conversation: Ms. Howard did state that Ms. Lillian Kaufman had been a tenant, but not any longer. She stated that she did not know where Ms. Kaufman went when she left. She stated Ms. Kaufman mentioned to her when they had spoken previously that she (Ms. Kaufman) had lived in Maryland and one day may go back there, or mentioned something about the state of Michigan. The process server then returned to the Noel premises and served Ms. Vicki Nance. At some point Plaintiff's counsel had established communications with the liability insurer of the Defendant. After proof of service by delivery to Ms. Nance was filed on April 14, 1981, counsel for the insurer, on behalf of the Defendant, filed a motion raising preliminary objection which, among other grounds, relied upon an affidavit by Ms. Nance that she resided at 525 Nowell. This precipitated a second effort by Plaintiff at substituted service in Florida. The same process server reinterviewed Mrs. Howard who explained that 527 Noel had formerly been her home, that the dwelling to the rear was a converted former garage, and that the two buildings have separate post office addresses. She advised that the person then residing in the house on the front of the lot was a Larry Nixon. The process server went to 527 Noel where a female who identified herself as Jeanette Nixon, the wife of Larry Nixon, answered the door. In the words of the process server's affidavit, Jeanette Nixon then accepted the papers and was very cooperative. She stated she hopes she does not get into trouble, but would accept and would hold onto the papers since she was not sure what to do with them. The circuit court ordered the service of process quashed, and we granted certiorari on our own motion prior to consideration of the Plaintiff's appeal by the Court of Special Appeals.