Civil Practice – Service of Process – Certified Mail – Old Address – Contactless Delivery

Defendant presented (1) evidence that, three years before plaintiffs attempted to serve him with process via certified mail, he had sold and vacated the home to which process was delivered and (2) his sworn affidavit that he did not receive the summons and complaint, did not sign the certified mail receipt and no longer owns or resides at the address. Moreover, the signature box on the return receipt shows “C-19,” as record of contactless delivery per USPS Covid Protocol. The USPS tracking history shows merely “delivered to an individual at the address.” Defendant rebutted the presumption of valid service of process.

We affirm the trial court’s grant of defendant’s motion to dismiss.

Scott v. Vural (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-067-23, 7 pp.) (Jefferson Griffin, J.) Appealed from Mecklenburg County Superior Court (Paulina Havelka, J.) Faith Fox for plaintiffs; Duane Jones, Brooks Miller and Linda Stephens for defendant. North Carolina Court of Appeals (unpublished)