So your friend is suing her ex-business partner for fraud or that neighbor you’ve avoided for years slipped on your front steps last winter. Now you’ve received paperwork saying you’re being taken to court. What happens next?<\/p>
In the American legal system, you can’t just inform someone they’re being sued by texting them or leaving a voicemail. There’s this whole official process called service of process that has to happen first. This is where process servers come in.<\/p>
Process servers are professionals who formally notify people that legal action is being taken against them. They hand-deliver court documents like summonses, complaints, subpoenas, and motions to defendants to officially establish the court’s jurisdiction.<\/p>
The right to due process is guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. This means that before the government can deprive you of life, liberty, or property, you have to be given proper notice and a chance to be heard.<\/p>
Due process protections form the backbone of the American justice system. And process servers are the ones making sure those Constitutional rights are upheld for both plaintiffs and defendants.<\/p>
By personally serving court documents to the defendant, services such as Preferred Process Servers<\/a> provide official notice that a case involving them exists. This starts the clock ticking for the defendant to respond and appear before the court to share their side of the story.<\/p> No pressure or anything, but this first step is essential for the entire legal proceeding to move forward. It’s no exaggeration to say process servers ensure the wheels of justice keep turning. Without process servers, many cases would never be heard.<\/p> Now you may be wondering why anyone would hire a special process server instead of just asking a friend to deliver the goods. The answer comes down to expertise. There’s a lot of precise rules and strict deadlines around service of process that your buddy is likely to miss.<\/p> Each state sets its own service requirements including who can serve court documents, how many attempts must be made, appropriate times of day to catch defendants at home, etc. Federal cases brought under institutions like the FDCPA also have particular process serving regulations.<\/p> Then there’s specific document types requiring personal service by a process server, like those involving:<\/p> In most jurisdictions, the initial summons and complaint only has 30, 60 or 90 days to be properly served to the defendant. Miss that window and the plaintiff risks having to reboot the entire case. No bueno.<\/p> You already know some defendants are shady and try to avoid the long arm of the law being slapped on their shoulder. These folks go out of their way to dodge process servers through deception and wild goose chases.<\/p> To complete service, process servers rely on persistence, skip tracing tools<\/a>, and good old-fashioned tracking skills to hunt defendants down at home, work or their secret vacation spot in the Maldives.<\/p> If all attempts to personally serve court documents ultimately fail, the server can turn to numerous substitute service methods like leaving them with a resident at the defendant’s home address instead.<\/p> But before alternate strategies are deployed, professional process servers give it their all to locate even the sneakiest defendants. Their purpose isn’t necessarily to catch the person, but to ensure their right to due process is upheld.<\/p> At this point you may be scratching your head wondering why you can’t just handle service of process yourself. Cut out the middleman and get those court papers directly into the hands of your soon-to-be ex-BFF being sued for wrecking your car, right?<\/p> While that may seem efficient, here’s why hiring a registered process server is the safest route:<\/p> With regularly changing state, federal, and local rules about service of process, it’s tough for the average person to keep it all straight. A misstep could completely invalidate the service and have your case thrown out. For example, debt collection<\/a> must follow the laid out rules of the FDCPA.<\/p> Professional process servers stay on top of laws and deadlines that vary across courts and legal matters. They know precisely how to deliver documents in a way that will hold up to strict legal standards.<\/p> Even with an up-to-date home or work address in hand, some defendants try very hard not to get served. They may refuse to answer the door or temporarily move without a forwarding address.<\/p> Process servers utilize special skip tracing databases and investigation techniques the typical person doesn’t have access to. They can dig up current phone numbers, addresses history, relatives’ information, and other data points to eventually hunt the defendant down.<\/p> Being served papers over a lawsuit tends to bring up strong emotions like anger or panic. A professional process server is trained to calmly handle these sensitive situations should they arise. They focus objectively on properly delivering documents, regardless of any outbursts or resistance.<\/p> Friends and family members get caught up in the drama of legal disputes with all sorts of biases and baggage. Process servers offer an impartial, unbiased third party better equipped to take the heat when tensions flare after service.<\/p> Hiring a registered process server ensures documents get into the right hands ASAP. Hiccups that add days, weeks or even months to the clock are avoided thanks to their expertise navigating relevant laws and using every tool available to promptly locate defendants.<\/p>Rules and Deadlines Galore<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>
Catch Me If You Can<\/span><\/h3>
Why Not DIY Service of Process?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>
They Know Procedural Rules Cold<\/span><\/h3>
Access Specialized Tracking Resources<\/span><\/h3>
Remain Impartial in Tense Situations<\/span><\/h3>
Speed Things Up<\/span><\/h3>
Becoming a Certified Process Server<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>