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Panel advances bill to harmonize how businesses and out‑of‑state motorists are served legal papers
Summary
The Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1361, which would align service‑of‑process rules for businesses and nonresident motorists, consolidate older statutes, and clarify procedures for serving the Secretary of State.
House Bill 1361, a measure to update Washington's service‑of‑process rules for business entities and nonresident motorists, received a staff briefing and testimony at the Civil Rights & Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 28.
The bill would revise how plaintiffs may serve a business that is registered with the state and change procedures for serving nonresident motorists through the Secretary of State. "If a legal claim is brought against a represented entity ... any service of process, notice, or demand may be made by service on an entity's registered agent," staff explained during the committee's presentation.
The committee heard that the existing statutory framework is inconsistent across two bodies of law. "RCW 23.95, enacted in…
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