Short answer. By publication too. When a party summoned by publication has failed to appear in the action, the judgment, final order, or resolution against that party must also be served by publication, at the expense of the prevailing party — personal service or registered mail alone will not do.
What the law says
Judgments, final orders or resolutions shall be served either personally or by registered mail. Upon ex parte motion of any party in the case, a copy of the judgment, final order, or resolution may be delivered by accredited courier at the expense of such party. When a party summoned by publication has failed to appear in the action, judgments, final orders or resolutions against him or her shall be served upon him or her also by [means of] publication at the expense of the prevailing party.
Rule 13, Section 13 — Service of [j]udgments, [f]inal [o]rders or [r]esolutions. Read the full provision →
The default modes for serving a judgment
As a general rule, judgments, final orders, and resolutions are served either personally or by registered mail — the same core modes used throughout this Rule for other papers in the case. A party may also, on ex parte motion, have a copy delivered by accredited courier, though that particular option comes at that requesting party's own expense rather than being charged to the losing party.
The special rule for a defendant summoned by publication
The provision then addresses a distinct and important situation: a party who was originally summoned by publication and who failed to appear in the action at all despite that. For that specific party, personal service or registered mail is not treated as enough for the judgment itself — it must also be served by publication, mirroring the very manner in which the case first reached them at the start of the proceedings.
Who pays for this publication
Unlike the ordinary courier option, which is charged to whichever party requests it for their own convenience, publication of the judgment against a non-appearing, publication-summoned defendant is done at the expense of the prevailing party. In other words, the party who won the case bears that publication cost, not the absent defendant who never took part in the proceedings against them.
Why the rule tracks how the party was reached
The logic here is consistent throughout: if a defendant could only be reached through publication because personal or substituted service was not possible in the first place, there is little reason to expect that a judgment mailed or hand-delivered afterward would actually reach that same defendant either. Requiring publication of the judgment closes that gap and keeps the mode of final notice consistent with how the party was originally brought into the case.
Related provisions
- Rule 13, Section 13 — Service of [j]udgments, [f]inal [o]rders or [r]esolutions
- Rule 13, Section 12 — Electronic mail and facsimile subject and title of pleadings and other documents
- Rule 13, Section 14 — Conventional service or filing of orders, pleadings and other documents