VERNON LOWE v. ELISHA HARVEY - Articles

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VERNON LOWE v. ELISHA HARVEY

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jun 27, 2025

Court: TN Court of Appeals

Attorneys 1: J. Timothy Bobo, Clinton, Tennessee, for the appellant, Vernon Lowe.

Attorneys 2: Daniel H. Rader, IV, Cookeville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Elisha Harvey.

Judge(s): SWINEY

This appeal concerns service of process. Vernon Lowe (“Plaintiff”) sued Elisha Harvey (“Defendant”) in the Circuit Court for Cumberland County (“the Trial Court”) for personal injuries sustained in a car accident. Defendant lives out of state. Plaintiff attempted to serve Defendant via the Tennessee Secretary of State. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss asserting insufficient service of process. The attempted service on Defendant occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the signature requirement for return receipt mail was suspended by the postal service. The signature space on the proof of delivery shows “E Harvey” handwritten with “MRC1C19” underneath. Plaintiff does not argue that this represents Defendant’s signature. Instead, Plaintiff argues that his service upon the Secretary of State was sufficient in itself. The Trial Court granted Defendant’s motion to dismiss. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

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