Richardson Machinery Co. v. Scott

delivered the opinion of the Court.

A statute of Oklahoma provides that if a foreign corporation doing business within the State fails to appoint an agent upon whom service may be made, process served upon the Secretary of State shall be sufficient to give jurisdiction of the person to any court having jurisdiction of

In September, 1920, Scott, a resident of Oklahoma, brought in a district court of the State an action of contract against the Geo. 0. Richardson Machinery Co., a Missouri corporation. He alleged in his petition that the defendant was a foreign corporation doing business in Oklahoma and that it had failed to appoint an agent upon whom process might be served. • He asked leave to serve the summons upon the Secretary of State as provided in the statute. There was a praecipe for summons pursuant to the statute; the summons issued; and it was served as in the statute provided. The defendant having failed to enter an appearance within the time limited, judgment by default was, in October, 1920, entered for the amount claimed.

In July, 1921, which was after the expiration of the term at which the judgment was entered, the corporation filed what it called a “Special appearance and motion to quash summons and service thereof and to set aside and vacate judgment.” The motion set forth that the corporation had not had actual notice of the action or the judgment; that, for this reason, it had not had an opportunity to defend; that it had and has a valid defense to the cause of action sued on; that it is not indebted to the plaintiff in any amount; and that if it had had notice, it would have interposed a defense. It alleged further that it had never engaged in business within the State; that it does, and has done, with residents of Oklahoma a purely interstate business; that the Secretary of State was not by contract or law its agent upon whom service could be made; that the statute authorizing service upon the Secretary of State was, as applied to it, a violation of the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; and that the trial court had no jurisdiction. It prayed that the

The proceedings which followed the filing of this motion to quash and vacate extend over a period of more than six years. The report of them occupies more than 200 pages of the printed record. Immediately after filing the motion, the corporation sought from the state district court, and obtained, an order removing the cause to the federal court on the ground of diversity of citizenship. There the case was heard on the motion to quash the summons and vacate the judgment. On April 27, 1922, after proceedings which it is unnecessary to detail, the federal court remanded the cause to the state court, because the petition for removal had not been filed in time.

On June 1, 1922, the case came on for hearing in the state court on the motion to quash the summons and to set aside the judgment. The motion was overruled; and exceptions were allowed. Then the corporation was granted leave to file instanter a petition, under § 810 of the Compiled Statutes (1921), to vacate the judgment. That section provides that the district court shall have power in nine classes of cases to vacate or modify its own judgments or orders, at or after the term at which such judgment or order was made. Among these are: “Fourth. For fraud, practiced by the successful party, in obtaining the judgment or order,” and “Seventh. For unavoidable casualty or misfortune, preventing the party from prosecuting or defending.”

Oh the same day, a new pleading entitled “Petition to Vacate Judgment” was filed. This petition did not contain an allegation that the corporation’s appearance was special and solely to contest the jurisdiction of the court; nor did it seek to quash the summons issued and served. In addition to allegations made in the motion filed in July, 1921, the new petition alleged that the service was based

To this petition to vacate a demurrer was interposed. There was a hearing upon the demurrer; it was sustained; the petition was dismissed, upon refusal of the corporation to plead further; and on June 19, 1922, a stay of the exe

In November, 1926, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma reversed itself and affirmed the judgment of the trial court dismissing the petition to vacate. 122 Okla. 125 . In its second opinion it recited the claim that the statute authorizing service upon the Secretary of State violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment; stated that the validity of the statute had been sustained in Title Guaranty & Surety Co. v. Slinker, 42 Okla. 811 , which was binding upon it; and then, exercising jurisdiction,, it held that relief could not be had under clause Seventh of § 810, because the corporation's lack of knowledge of the commencement of the action was not due to “ unavoidable casualty or misfortune" but to its own failure to appoint an agent as required by the law of the State. As leading to that conclusion, it held further that the Secretary of State was not under a duty to send notice of the summons.

This Court being of opinion that the constitutionality of the statute concerning service, as so construed, was questionable, and that the question of its validity was one of general importance, granted the petition for a writ of certiorari. 274 U. S. 729 . Further study of the record discloses that the discussion by the state court of this