N.C. Ct. of App.: Jhang v. Temple- Sufficiency of Service

Summary:

On appeal, Templeton University  asserted that service of a lawsuit  was improper because it was not made to the appropriate office of an officer, director, or managing agent nor to an actual officer, director, or managing agent.  The N.C. Court of Appeals rejected this,  as service "does not require that the person upon whom summons is served be in fact in charge of the office of the officer, director or managing agent of the corporation, merely that the person be ‘apparently in charge’” with the evidence showing such apparent authority.  Further,  the responses filed by a non-attorney director for Templeton University were insufficient to contest service,  as “a corporation must be represented by a duly admitted and licensed attorney-at-law and cannot proceed pro se. . . .” LexisNexis, Div. of Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Travishan Corp., 155 N.C. App. 205, 209, 573 S.E.2d 547, 549 (2002).