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A plaintiff files a civil action in the Regional Trial Court against a private individual defendant. After reasonable diligence, personal service cannot be effected at the defendant’s residence or place of business. The process server then attempts substituted service by delivering a copy of the summons at the defendant’s residence to the defendant’s spouse, who resides there and is an adult. The server also leaves a copy with a non-family neighbor and posts a copy on the defendant’s door. The defendant does not appear. (a) Identify the controlling doctrine on substituted service and apply it to the facts to determine whether service on the spouse at the residence constitutes valid substituted service; explain whether the later acts with the neighbor and posting affect validity. (b) If substituted service on the spouse is valid, outline the steps necessary to evidence service and the consequences for the court’s jurisdiction; if it is not valid, describe the proper alternative modes to effect service and the implications if service remains defective.