State ex rel. Farber v. Mazzone, 213 W. Va. 661

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia granted Michael C. Farber's petition for a writ of prohibition in an underlying legal-malpractice action. The court held that service of process by restricted certified mail received by a temporary secretary was defective under West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 4, depriving the circuit court of personal jurisdiction. The resulting default judgment and subsequent enforcement proceedings were void, and the absence of a prior appeal did not bar prohibition relief.

Holdings

1. Service of process was defective and void because the certified mailing restricted delivery to Farber was accepted by a temporary secretary who was not authorized to receive it on his behalf.
2. Defective service deprived the circuit court of personal jurisdiction over Farber, and the resulting default judgment was void.
3. The failure to appeal the default judgment did not bar relief by writ of prohibition because the writ was based on the circuit court's lack of personal jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether service of process by certified mail with restricted delivery was valid when the mailing was accepted by the defendant's temporary secretary rather than by the defendant or an authorized agent.
2. Whether defective service deprived the circuit court of personal jurisdiction and rendered the default judgment void.
3. Whether a writ of prohibition was available despite the petitioner's failure to appeal the default judgment and related orders.

Disposition

writ_granted