Valid proof of service thru News Paper?

Approximately 3 months ago somewhere in on the East Coast there was a legal cases where a person had a default judgment against them and it was due to the fact that they plaintiff posted the notice in a local news paper. The defendant never saw the notice and was not aware of the court action. When he file a motion to vacate the default judgment for improper service the Judge agreed because proof of service by publication is Valid as long as the defendant does not dispute the outcome. The judge also ruled that the use of service via news paper is out dated and was used 50 plus years ago before the internet and Other services as well as news paper are a dying breed, The publication was in some aspects obsolete. Does anyone know this Case or one like it??