Who should the church list as the Agent of Service for Process?
Every year our churches in Nevada have to file a Statement of Corporate Officers with the Secretary of State. Our churches in California have to do this every other year. This is how the State updates their records about the current President, Vice-President, and Corporate Secretary of the church's corporation. They also ask for the church to list an, "Agent of Service for Process." This article helps you to know who that should be.
Our District Affiliated Churches never have to handle this procedure, because it handled by the DRC, and so this information is not directed to District Affiliated churches. However if you are a District Affiliated church and you receive the Statement of Officers form, please forward that form to the District Office.
And so, you are a General Council Church, and you know who the President, Vice-President, and Corporate Secretary is. But who should you list as Agent of Service for Process? The District recommends that the church lists the District Secretary-Treasurer as the Agent of Service for Process for our churches in California, and the Region 1 Executive Presbyter for our churches in Nevada.
Why? To answer that question, we need to have a quick lesson in corporation law. Black’s Law Dictionary defines service of process as: “the formal delivery of a writ,summons, or other legal process.” “Process” itself is “a summons or writ, especially that to appear or respond in court.” In its simplest form, an "agent for service of process" is the person to contact when you, or your corporation, is being sued by someone. Generally, a “process server”, who typically cannot be a party to the action, must personally deliver the summons and complaint to the defendant. The State provides that, rather than having to play detective and track down a person, someone is registered with the Secretary of State, is located within the State, and is required then to accept the summons and complaint on behalf of the corporation. After service is made the clock begins ticking defining the period in which the corporation, as the defendant, must provide an Answer to the court and to the plaintiff. So who should the church designate as this "agent?" The Calif. Secretary of State states that “a corporation CANNOT ACT as its own agent. Approval from a proposed agent [other than yourself] should be obtained prior to designation.” http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/corp/corp_faq.htm#question9
The weight of this is simply that an INDIVIDUAL (or another corporation specifically established to receive service under section 1505 of the California Corporation Code – a professional agent, typically used by out-of-state companies registered to do business in California) must be established in the Statement of Officers as the Agent of Service for Process. And so the church could hire a lawyer to be the Agent of Service, or appoint another individual (although this is very risky, since the individual might move or might not fulfill their responsibility to inform the church of a summons,) or it could appoint the District Officers. We, of course, recommend the latter.
For California:
Jay A Herndon
6051 S Watt Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95829
For Nevada:
Gary Morefield
711 N Valle Verde Dr
Henderson, NV 89014
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