3813

(a) Any foreign corporation doing business in the Commonwealth without having authorization to do so pursuant to § 3801 of this title, shall be deemed to have thereby appointed and constituted the Secretary of State as its agent for the acceptance of legal process in any action, suit or proceeding against it in any court of the Commonwealth arising or growing out of any business transacted by it within the Commonwealth. The transaction of business in the Commonwealth by such corporation shall be a signification of the agreement of such corporation that any such process when so served shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon an authorized officer or agent personally within the Commonwealth.\n(b) The provisions of § 3805 of this title shall not apply in determining whether any foreign corporation is transacting business in the Commonwealth within the meaning of this section. Whenever used in this section, the terms 'the transaction of business' or 'business transacted in the Commonwealth', by any such foreign corporation shall mean the course or practice of carrying on any business activities in the Commonwealth, including, without limiting the generality of

acted in the Commonwealth', by any such foreign corporation shall mean the course or practice of carrying on any business activities in the Commonwealth, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the solicitation of business or orders in the Commonwealth. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any insurance company doing business in the Commonwealth.\n(c) In the event of service upon the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall be responsible for notifying the corporation thereof by certified mail, return receipt requested, directed to the corporation at the address furnished to the Secretary of State by the plaintiff in such action, suit or proceeding, together with a copy of the process and any other papers served upon the Secretary of State. It shall be the duty of the plaintiff in the event of such service to serve process and any other papers in duplicate to the Secretary of State, to notify the Secretary of State that service is being made pursuant to this section, and to pay the Secretary of State the fees payable established in Chapter 237 of this subtitle, which sum shall be paid as a part of the costs in the action, suit or

ng made pursuant to this section, and to pay the Secretary of State the fees payable established in Chapter 237 of this subtitle, which sum shall be paid as a part of the costs in the action, suit or proceeding if the plaintiff shall prevail therein. The Secretary of State shall maintain an alphabetical record of any such process setting forth the name of the plaintiff and defendant, the title, docket number and nature of the proceeding in which the process has been served, the return date thereof, and the day and hour when the service was made. The Secretary of State shall not be required to retain the information contained in such record of process for a period longer than five (5) years from receipt of the service of process.\nHistory —Dec. 16, 2009, No. 164, § 13.13.