A. A foreign limited partnership transacting business in the Commonwealth may not maintain any action, suit, or proceeding in any court of the Commonwealth until it has registered in the Commonwealth.
B. The successor to a foreign limited partnership that transacted business in the Commonwealth without registering in the Commonwealth and the assignee of a cause of action arising out of that business may not maintain a proceeding based on that cause of action in any court in the Commonwealth until the foreign limited partnership or its successor has registered in the Commonwealth.
C. The failure of a foreign limited partnership to register in the Commonwealth does not impair the validity of any contract or act of the foreign limited partnership or prevent the foreign limited partnership from defending any action, suit, or proceeding in any court of the Commonwealth.
D. A limited partner of a foreign limited partnership is not liable as a general partner of a foreign limited partnership solely by reason of having transacted business in the Commonwealth without registration.
E. Suits, actions, and proceedings may be initiated against a foreign limited partnership that transacts business in the Commonwealth without a certificate of registration by serving process on any general partner or agent of the limited partnership doing such business, or, if none can be found, on the clerk of the Commission or on the limited partnership in any other manner permitted by law. If any foreign limited partnership transacts business in the Commonwealth without a certificate of registration, it shall by transacting such business be deemed to have thereby appointed the clerk of the Commission its agent for service of process. Service upon the clerk shall be made in accordance with § 12.1-19.1.