Parties to action
This law is about how a court case to appoint a receiver for a bad building gets started and who has to be part of it. A county, city, housing group, or neighborhood group starts the case by filing a special paper with the court. The people who must be named in the case are the last recorded owner of the building and anyone who holds a recorded mortgage or lien on it. If the owner does not live in Missouri or is a company, they have to name a person or company in Missouri who can receive legal papers on their behalf, and that name gets filed with the secretary of state. These cases get moved through court faster than most other cases.
441.520. Parties to — designation of required, when. — 1. The action to appoint a by section 441.510 shall be commenced by the of a by the county, , or .
2. There shall be named as s:
(1) The last owner of of the as of the date of the filing of the ; and
(2) The last of record of any mortgage, , or other of record against the building as of the date of the filing of the petition.
3. Any owner of the dwelling who is not a may be permitted by the court to join as a party defendant.
4. (1) Any owner, whether or not a citizen or ident of this state, who in person or through , owns, uses, or is possessed of any situated in this state thereby subjects himself or itself to the of the courts of this state as to any arising the of sections 441.500 to 441.643. of shall be made in accordance with the ; provided that, if such cannot with due diligence be made, may be made by personally serving process upon the defendant outside this state, or by service in accordance with the rules of civil procedure as in all cases affecting a res within the jurisdiction of the court.
(2) If a landlord of residential property is not a resident of this state or is a , the landlord shall an agent upon whom service of process may be made in this state. The agent shall be a resident of this state or a corporation authorized to transact business in this state. The designation shall be in writing and include the address and the name of the registered agent and shall be filed in the office of the . If no designation is made and filed or if process cannot be in this state upon the agent, process may be served upon the secretary of state, but service upon him or her is not effective unless the mails a copy of the process and by to the defendant or at the address stated on the 's records for the subject property. An of with this section shall be filed with the .
5. Any action brought pursuant to the provisions of sections 441.500 to 441.643 shall be by the court and may be given over other suits.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1969 p. 537 § 3, A.L. 1971 H.B. 205, A.L. 1995 H.B. 383, A.L. 1998 H.B. 977 & 1608, A.L. 2001 H.B. 133)
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.