Chapter 56, Chapter 56

(a) Any civil action or other proceeding, except where it is otherwise specially provided, may hereafter be brought in the circuit court of any county: (1) Wherein any of the defendants may reside or the cause of action arose, except that an action of ejectment or unlawful detain…

(a) In any civil action if a court of this state, upon a timely written motion of a party, finds that in the interest of justice and for the convenience of the parties a claim or action would be more properly heard in a forum outside this state, the court shall decline to exercis…

(a) As used in this chapter, “construction contract” means a contract, subcontract, or agreement entered into or made by an owner, architect, engineer, contractor, construction manager, subcontractor, supplier, or material or equipment lessor for the design, construction, alterat…

A notice, no particular mode of serving which is prescribed, may be served by delivering a copy thereof in writing to the party in person; or if he (or she) be not found, by delivering such copy at his (or her) usual place of abode, and giving information of its purport, to his w…

Any such notice to a person not residing in this state may be served by the publication thereof as a Class III legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the count…

Notice to any party to take a deposition may be served on the counsel of such party, or on any one of such counsel, if there be more than one, and such service shall have like effect as if the notice were served on the party, provided the time between the service of notice and ta…

In the case of any bond taken by an officer, or given by a sheriff or constable, and returned to or filed in the office of the clerk of the county court of the county, or any bond or recognizance taken in a criminal case or proceeding, the circuit court of the county, or the cour…

In any case wherein there may be judgment or decree for money on motion, such motion shall be after ten days' notice, unless some other time be specified in the section or statute authorizing such motion.

Any person entitled to recover money by action on any contract may, on motion before any court which would have jurisdiction in an action, obtain judgment for such money after not less than twenty days' notice, which notice shall be in writing, signed by the plaintiff or his atto…

On a motion, when an issue of fact is joined, and either party desires it, or when in the opinion of the court it is proper, a jury shall be impaneled for the trial of the issue.

Unless otherwise expressly provided by law, any forfeiture payable to the state under any provision of law may be enforced in the circuit court or other court of record having jurisdiction thereof, upon notice of motion for judgment brought in the name of the state. If such judgm…

The right and benefit of all writs, remedial and judicial, given by any statute or act of parliament made in aid of the common law prior to the fourth year of the reign of James the First, of a general nature, not local to England, shall still be saved, so far as the same may be …

If there come directed to a clerk, by mail, a letter with an indorsement on the envelope of the parties' names, and the nature of the process enclosed, he shall take the same out of the post office, and pay such postage as may be due thereon.

Any process or notice may be executed on or before the return day thereof. If it appear to be duly served and good in other respects, it shall be deemed valid, although not directed to any officer, or although directed to an officer who is not qualified to execute it, provided it…

Any summons or scire facias against any person, including a summons for a witness, may be served as a notice is served under section one, article two of this chapter, except that when such process is against a corporation the mode of service shall be as prescribed by the two foll…

Unless otherwise specially provided, process against, or notice to, a corporation created by virtue of the laws of this state may be served as follows: (a) If a city, town or village, on its mayor, city manager, recorder, clerk, treasurer, or any member of its council or board of…

Process against, or notice to, a domestic limited partnership or a foreign limited partnership may be served on any general partner, or on the Secretary of State as statutory attorney-in-fact of such limited partnership as provided in section twenty-six-a of article nine, chapter…

Process against, or notice to, a foreign corporation which has a usual place of business in this state, or, with or without such usual place of business, is doing business in this state, permanently or temporarily, and which has qualified to do such business under the laws of thi…

In a case against any common carrier, other than a corporation, for any liability as such, it shall be sufficient to serve any process against or notice to the carrier on any agent, or the driver, operator, captain or conductor of any vehicle of such carrier.

No civil process or order shall be executed on Sunday, except in cases of persons escaping from custody, or where it may be specially provided by law.

Every officer by whom any process or order may be lawfully executed shall execute the same within his bailiwick, or upon any river or creek adjoining thereto.

Such officer may, in case resistance be made or apprehended to the execution of such process or order, summon to his assistance, either orally or by writing, so many of the male inhabitants of his county of the age of eighteen years or more, or require the commandant of any compa…

Every officer to whom any process or order is lawfully delivered for execution shall, without avoidable delay, execute the same according to the command thereof and the provisions of law, and make true return thereon at the proper time and place, stating in such return the time a…

The writ of right, writ of entry, writ of formedon, writ de homine replegiando, writ of levari facias, writ of elegit, writ of distringas and writ of capias ad satisfaciendum are abolished and shall not hereafter be issued.

A judgment in a prosecution under the preceding section for failure to make proper return of any process or order, or to subscribe the return as aforesaid, shall be no bar to further proceedings if the failure be continued; but there shall be a further forfeiture by the officer, …

If, at the return day of any process, it be not returned executed, an alias or other proper process may be issued without waiting (where the first process is returnable to a term) for the subsequent process to be awarded at rules. And where, for want of a return of the first proc…

No judgment shall be rendered on a scire facias, or in any other case, on returns of nihil.

On affidavit that a defendant is a foreign corporation for which no statutory attorney-in-fact, officer, director or agent is found in this state upon whom service may be had, or is not a resident of this state, or that diligence has been used by or on behalf of the plaintiff to …

Every order of publication shall give the style of the suit, state briefly its object, and require the defendants against whom it is entered, or the unknown parties, to appear within one month after the date of the first publication thereof and do what is necessary to protect the…

When such order shall have been so published, if the defendants against whom it is entered, or the known parties, shall not appear within the time specified in such order, the case may be tried or heard as to them at the next term of the court commencing not less than one month a…

Any unknown party or other defendant who was not served with process in this state, and did not appear in the case before the date of such judgment, decree or order or the representative of such, may, within two years from that date, if he be not served with a copy of such judgme…

When, by the return of any officer of process issued to answer any appeal, writ of error or supersedeas pending in the Supreme Court of Appeals of this state, or when, from affidavit filed with the clerk of said court, it shall appear that any appellee or defendant in error there…

Such order of publication shall be entered by the clerk in a suitable book kept by him for the purpose and signed by him and a certified copy of such order shall be published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine …

Any unknown party or other defendant who was not served with process in this state, and did not appear in the cause, may have the same reheard and any injustice in the proceedings corrected within the time prescribed by section twenty-six of this article.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no civil action shall lie or be maintained in this state for breach of promise to marry or for alienation of affections, unless such civil action was instituted prior to the effective date of this section.

The Supreme Court of Appeals may, from time to time, prescribe the forms of writs and other process, and until the court shall alter the forms, the same may be as heretofore used, except so far as is otherwise provided.

(a) Every nonresident, for the privilege of operating a motor vehicle on a public street, road or highway of this state, either personally or through an agent, appoints the Secretary of State, or his or her successor in office, to be his or her agent or attorney-in-fact upon whom…

The writ or process commencing any action at law or suit in equity shall be a part of the record, without oyer thereof.

(a) The engaging by a nonresident, or by his or her duly authorized agent, in any one or more of the acts specified in subdivisions (1) through (7), inclusive, of this subsection shall be considered equivalent to an appointment by a nonresident of the Secretary of State, or his o…

(a) Any person who is: (1) Not a resident of this state; or (2) A resident of this state who has left this state; or (3) A person whose residence is unknown shall be considered to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state as to any action arising from the con…

(a) Every nonresident bail bond enforcer or bail bondsman, for the privilege of entering this state to act in the capacity of a bail bond enforcer, either personally or through an agent, appoints the Secretary of State, or his or her successor in office, to be his or her agent or…

The process to commence a suit shall be a writ commanding the officer to whom it is directed to summon the defendant to answer the bill or action. It shall be issued on the order of the plaintiff, his attorney or agent, and shall not, after it is issued, be altered, nor any blank…

Process from any court, whether original, mesne or final, may be directed to the sheriff of any county. Any process shall be returnable, within ninety days after its date, except as provided in section six, article two of this chapter, to the court on any day of a term, or in the…

The clerk of every court from whose office may be issued any process, original, mesne or final, or any order or decree to be served on any person, shall, unless the party interested, or his attorney, direct otherwise, deliver the same to the sheriff or other proper officer of the…

Every officer who attends a court shall, within five days after the end of any rules, go to the clerk's office and receive all process, orders and decrees to be executed by him and give receipts therefor. For any failure so to do he shall forfeit $50.

Proof that any process or order was put into the post office in an envelope or cover properly addressed to any officer, and that the postage thereon was paid, shall be prima facie evidence of the receipt thereof in due course of mail by the officer to whom it was so addressed; an…

A sheriff or other officer may transmit by mail (the postage thereon being prepaid) any process or order which came to his hands from beyond his county, with his return thereon, in an envelope or cover properly addressed to the officer to whom or whose office such return ought to…

In the clerk's office of every circuit court, rules shall be held on the first Monday of every month, whether the court be in session or not, except that when a term of the circuit court commences on the first Monday in a month, or on either of the two following days, or on the p…

The proceedings in a suit wherein an infant or insane person is a party shall not be stayed because of such infancy or insanity, but the court in which the suit is pending, or the judge thereof in vacation, or the clerk thereof at rules, shall appoint some discreet and competent …

No case shall be dismissed simply because it was brought on the wrong side of the court, but whenever it shall appear that a plaintiff has proceeded at law when he should have proceeded in equity, or in equity when he should have proceeded at law, the court shall direct a transfe…