§ 172.005.Date Written Communications Received

A deemed-receipt rule, and in a cross-border arbitration it earns its place.

Delivery is receipt. A written communication is received on the day it is delivered to the addressee personally, or at the addressee’s place of business, habitual residence or mailing address.

The parties can change it. The rule applies except as agreed by the parties.

Receipt dates run the chapter’s clocks. The 30-day periods in Sections 172.054, 172.060, 172.082, 172.147 and 172.148 all start from receipt of something.

The fallback handles a party who cannot be found. If no listed place can be found after a reasonable inquiry, the communication is received if sent to the last known place of business, habitual residence or mailing address.

The method must leave a trace. Registered mail, or other means that provides a record of the attempt to deliver.

A reasonable inquiry is the condition for using the fallback. A party cannot skip to the last known address without looking.

Court communications are excluded. The section does not apply to a written communication relating to a court proceeding, which is governed by the service rules instead.

Without such a rule an international arbitration could stall indefinitely against a party that stops collecting mail, which is why the model this chapter follows includes one.