National Home Life Assurance Co. v. Hawkins
National Home Life Assurance Co. v. Hawkins
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from an order denying the appellant corporation’s motion to set aside a default judgment. The appellant contends that the person upon whom service was made was not an agent authorized to receive such service on its behalf. Held:
Under Code Ann. § 81A-104 (d) (1), service on a corporation may be made by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint "to the president or other officer of the corporation, secretary, cashier, managing agent, or other agent thereof . . .” (Emphasis supplied.) Service in this case was made at the company’s office upon Ms. Caryl Swift, one of the company’s insurance agents. The appellant contends that Ms. Swift was not an agent for the company as that term is used in Code Ann. § 81A-104 (d) (1), supra, because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee.
"An independent contractor may also be an agent. Thus, a person may be an independent contractor and at the same time . . . act as an agent ... for a particular purpose, as, for example, for service of process ...” 2A CJS 569, 574, Agency, § 12. See generally Code § 4-101. It is
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.