Was I properly served?
This is a very common question. The law dictates that when you sue a person you must give that person a formal notice that a legal process has been started. The legal process is to have the Defendant served with a copy of the paperwork filed with the court i.e. “Service of Process” The person who serves the papers is called a “process server” and is a third-party, not associated with the plaintiff. Until this is done, the court will have no jurisdiction over the Defendant.
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Proper means of service:
1. Personal Service – The summons and complaint are served on the Defendant directly.
2. Substituted Service - The summons and complaint are served on a third-party, who is at least 18 years of age. This can be a member of your family at your residence or co-worker (if served at work).
3. Service by Mail-The summons and complaint are mailed to your residence.
4. Service by Publication – With the courts permission the summons and complaint can be published in your local newspaper.
There are other means in which service can be affected but these are the most common.
Sewer-Service/Proper motion to vacate
Unfortunately unscrupulous process severs who work with debt collection agencies engage in what is termed “sewer-service” and claim to have properly served a Defendant, when in-fact they have not. The debt collector will use the sworn statement of the process server and declare affected service. Since the Defendant is unaware of the action he/she will not have filed an affirmative defense and the debt collector will take a default judgment. A Defendant may go months without ever knowing about the judgment. Fortunately there are remedies to reverse this type of deceptive practice and with proper motion it can be set-aside or vacated.
