This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
Sometimes a person cannot be handed court papers directly. This might happen if someone cannot be found, lives out of state, or is avoiding service. In these situations, the law allows a different way to notify them, often called constructive service. This can include things like publishing a notice in a newspaper or mailing papers to a last known address.
When this type of service is allowed, Tennessee law already has specific rules about how to do it. This rule simply says that those existing state laws control the process. The court rules do not create a new method. Instead, they point back to whatever the Tennessee statutes already require.
In short, if someone cannot be served in person, the person trying to serve them must follow the exact steps set out in state law. If those steps are not followed correctly, the service may not count, and the case could be delayed or dismissed.
