Yesterday's post mentioned mentioned Chapter 17 of the California General Corporation Law which governs service of process in addition to the provisions of the California Code of Civil Procedure.  Corporations Code Section 1700 states that process may be served on "domestic corporations" as provided in Chapter 17.   Importantly, the term "domestic corporation" is defined to mean a corporation formed under the laws of California.  Cal. Corp. Code § 167.   The term "corporation", unless otherwise expressly provided, refers to a corporation organized under the General Corporation Law or subject to the General Corporation Law pursuant to Section 102(a).  Cal. Corp. Code § 162.  Thus, the scope of Chapter 17 is not limited to corporations formed under the General Corporation Law.  

Section 1701 provides that delivery by hand of a copy of any process against a "corporation" constitutes valid service on the corporation when delivered to either: (i) any natural person designated by the corporation as an agent; or (ii) if a corporate agent has been designated,  any person named in the latest certificate filed with the Secretary of State pursuant Section 1505 at the office of the corporate agent.  It is unclear whether the legislature intended Section 1701 to apply to domestic corporations that are not corporations.  Section 1700 seemingly makes all of Chapter 17 applicable to "domestic corporations" and yet Section 1701 refers only to "corporations".  If Section 1859 of the Code of Civil Procedure is applied, the more specific provision (Section 1701) would prevail over the more general (Section 1700) ("In the construction of a statute the intention of the Legislature, and in the construction of the instrument the intention of the parties, is to be pursued, if possible; and when a general and particular provision are inconsistent, the latter is paramount to the former. So a particular intent will control a general one that is inconsistent with it.").  

Chapter 17 includes only three statutes.  The first (Section 1700) refers only to "domestic corporations", the second (Section 1701) refers only to "corporations", the third (Section 1702) refers to both!  What was the legislature thinking, if anything?

[View source.]