Use of Highways as Appointment of Agent for Process — Pre-Trial Discovery Depositions

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  6. Use of Highways as Appointment of Agent for Process — Pre-Trial Discovery Depositions

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    1. Any owner, chauffeur or operator of any motor vehicle that is not licensed under the laws of this state, or any nonresident who, acting in behalf of the owner of any such vehicle, uses or causes to be used any such motor vehicle in this state, or any nonresident of this state who hires or procures the use of a motor vehicle licensed under the laws of this state, for temporary use in this state, and who makes use of the privilege, extended to nonresidents of the state to operate such vehicle on highway or highways within the state, shall be deemed thereby to constitute the secretary of state of this state as agent for acceptance of service of process in any civil action brought by any person against the owner, chauffeur or operator of such motor vehicle or nonresident arising out of any accident or injury occurring in this state in which such vehicle is involved;
    2. Such use of a highway shall be treated as an agreement on the part of such person that such service of process shall have the force and validity of personal service on the owner, chauffeur or operator of such motor vehicle or nonresident within the jurisdiction of this state and the county of action.
    3. As used in this section, “nonresident” includes any person who, though a resident of this state or who was the owner or operator of a motor vehicle properly registered and licensed under the laws of this state when the motor vehicle accident or injury occurred, has been absent from this state for at least thirty (30) days next preceding the day on which process is lodged with the secretary of state as provided in § 20-2-205.
  2. The agency of the secretary of state to accept service of process in actions for both personal injuries and property damages shall continue for such period of time or so long as the cause of action is not barred by the statute of limitations of this state and shall not be revoked by the death of the nonresident during that period of time. The agency shall continue so long after the expiration of such time as may be necessary to enable the secretary of state to complete the service of process, sued out prior to the expiration of the time and forwarded to the defendant with reasonable dispatch.
  3. The secretary of state shall keep a docket in which the secretary of state enters the style of the cause, the date of issuance of such process, the date of its receipt by the secretary of state and the date on which it was forwarded by the secretary of state to the person named as defendant in the cause.
  4. For the purpose of venue as set out in § 20-4-101, the secretary of state may be considered by the plaintiff as either a resident of the county in which the cause of action arose or the county in which the plaintiff resides.
  5. Any owner, chauffeur or operator of any motor vehicle that is not licensed under the laws of this state, or any nonresident who, acting in behalf of the owner of any such vehicle, uses or causes to be used any such motor vehicle in this state, or any nonresident who hires or procures the use of a motor vehicle licensed under the laws of this state, for temporary use in the state, and who is duly served with process under this section and §§ 20-2-204 — 20-2-207, in connection with any civil action brought by any person against the owner, chauffeur or operator, or nonresident arising out of any accident or injury occurring in this state in which the vehicle is involved, shall be required, upon receipt of the proper notice as required in title 24, chapter 9 to appear at the time and place specified in the notice, which shall be in the county in which the action is pending, for the purpose of giving a pretrial discovery deposition as authorized by the rules of civil procedure and title 24, chapter 9. The written notice required by § 20-2-205 to be sent to any person served under §§ 20-2-204 — 20-2-207, along with a certified copy of the original summons, shall include a notification to the effect that the person shall be subject to appearance in this state for the purpose of giving a pretrial discovery deposition if subsequently served with proper notice to do so.
  6. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a prohibition on the exercise of jurisdiction over or service of process on a person who is deemed by this section to constitute the secretary of state as the person's agent, pursuant to §§ 20-2-214 — 20-2-219.

Code 1932, § 8671; Acts 1947, ch. 235, § 1; 1949, ch. 47, §§ 1, 2; C. Supp. 1950, § 8671; Acts 1955, ch. 265, § 1; 1957, ch. 61, § 1; 1963, ch. 269, § 1; 1968, ch. 574, § 1; 1970, ch. 396, § 1; 1972, ch. 470, § 1; 1977, ch. 348, § 1; 1979, ch. 418, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-224.

Cross-References. Liability insurance on motor vehicles, §56-7-1101.

Textbooks. Tennessee Forms (Robinson, Ramsey and Harwell), Nos. 1-8-4.1, 1-8-6, 1-8-10.

Tennessee Jurisprudence, 4 Tenn. Juris., Automobiles, § 36; 21 Tenn. Juris., Process, § 9; 24 Tenn. Juris., Venue, § 4.

Law Reviews.

Civil Procedure — Carr v. Borchers: Tennessee's Nonresident Motorist Statute Revisited, 22 Mem. St. U.L. Rev. 357 (1992).

The Future of General Jurisdiction in Tennessee, 27 U. Mem. L. Rev. 559 (1997).

Cited: Fowler v. Herman, 200 Tenn. 201, 292 S.W.2d 11, 1956 Tenn. LEXIS 396 (1956); Shelton v. Breeding, 43 Tenn. App. 609, 310 S.W.2d 469, 1957 Tenn. App. LEXIS 138 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1957); Lovejoy v. Ahearn, 223 Tenn. 562, 448 S.W.2d 420, 1969 Tenn. LEXIS 442 (1969); Speight v. Miller, 437 F.2d 781, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 11951 (7th Cir. Ill. 1971); McDavid v. James, 64 F.R.D. 182, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10620 (D. Tenn. 1973); Jones v. Johnson, 244 S.W.3d 338, 2007 Tenn. App. LEXIS 438 (Tenn. Ct. App. July 16, 2007).


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