How And Why Does Someone Serve People With Legal Papers?
The service of process is a legal procedure that requires all parties to be notified when legal actions are taken against them in a court of law. The action is what people generally refer to as “serving papers.”
In this article, we’ll talk about why you or another person can be served with legal papers, how the process works, and why you shouldn’t avoid such a service. Read on!
Why Would Someone Serve You with Legal Papers
The only reason a process server would serve you legal papers is that you’re being sued. That, or you’re a party of interest in a legal proceeding, which can be:
Divorce
Small claims
Child support
Or other legal matters. A process server is responsible for finding you and serving the papers. They basically notify you of the legal action taken against you and deliver the court documents. These legal documents often require responses and impose deadlines by which you can submit your legal response.
In other words, serving you with papers is the law’s way of ensuring you have a chance to respond to any lawsuits or legal actions against you.
How Does It Work?
Being served with papers means that the due process for giving notice to a defendant has been met. Every state or country has specific rules for serving people with papers, but they typically require personal services first.
“Personal services” here refers to the act of literally handing the legal papers personally to the defendant. The process server must be of legal age and meet other requirements that the state imposes. If personal delivery fails, one may use Premium Legal Services from a third-party entity.
Moreover, if you’re the plaintiff, you should ensure that all defendants are served. You can’t serve one defendant and hope that he or she will tell the others about the lawsuit. This is true even if the parties live or are in business together.
Who can Serve Papers?
When the service of process law was first instituted, law enforcement authorities — such as deputies, sheriffs, and agents of the court — performed the service of process. However, these days, any citizen can serve papers as long as he or she isn’t party to the case and lives in the state or province where the legal matter is to be tried in court.
No matter who serves the papers, if personal service is used, the documents must be handed to the defendant. They can’t simply leave the documents in the mailbox, at the defendant’s office, or in their homes.
If the defendant refuses to accept the papers, tries to run away, or acts hostile, the process server should simply put the paper down and leave — valid service will still be done. The server shouldn’t use force to make the defendant accept the papers.
If you own a business, you’re required to have a legal service of process agent. The agent or company will be responsible for receiving and serving papers on your behalf. They should have an exact address, which should also appear on your business public records. Failure to have a service of process agent will result in penalties for non-compliance.
Why You Shouldn’t Avoid Getting Served with Papers
It’s not illegal to avoid being served with papers, but it doesn’t help you win a case. The lawsuit or legal action will still move forward against you. In fact, you may miss out on any court orders and decisions, which will be made without your knowledge.
Avoiding papers also result in longer and more expensive litigations; multiple service charges for process server attempts can be charged to you or the person that keeps avoiding the legal documents.