Hello, and welcome to the Lafayette Process Servers LLC podcast. I’m your host Andrew in place of Scott Frank today, and in today’s episode, we are going to talk about why you, as a party to a case, should not attempt to serve someone with papers by yourself, and why a process server is absolutely essential for you to serve someone legally, in a hassle-free and diligent manner.
Let’s say you are looking to serve someone, and are wondering if it would be legal and appropriate to serve them yourself. How do you go about doing this? Well, to put it simply, you do not. As a party in a litigation matter, you are prohibited from serving papers to anyone else who is a party in the same litigation matter. This is why you need a professional process server to help ensure that the other party is served. In order to fully understand why a process server is essential, let’s take a look at the United States Constitution.
No one can be deprived of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law, according to the United States Constitution. The process server protects the defendant’s rights by notifying him or her of a lawsuit or legal proceeding that has been filed against him or her, as required under due process. Initially, the sheriff of a county served legal documents on defendants, after which process servers were utilised to reduce the need for ensuring documents were served in a timely manner as cities’ populations rose. The defendant’s jurisdiction is established by proper service of process. After a party has been duly served, he or she is required to appear in court. The plaintiff can request a default judgement against the defendant if the defendant has been properly served and is aware that he or she is obligated to appear in court, but fails to do so.
Therefore, the primary responsibility of a process server is to deliver legal documents to an individual or party designated in the case. Process service is used to notify a party that an action has started or that a key document has been submitted in the case.
Contrary to if you were to serve someone yourself, using a process server creates a traceable record that you attempted to contact them. So, if you are involved in any legal processes, you may need the services of a process server at some point. For instance, if you are going through divorce proceedings and your spouse can’t be found or refuses to acknowledge receipt of the papers, you might need to hire a process server. The process server will locate the respondent in the case, serve the documents if possible, and then file the requisite proof of service with the court to allow the divorce to proceed. Therefore, trying to serve them yourself can be disruptive not only to your case, but can also adversely influence when and how the case proceeds.
In addition to this, if you have a violent spouse or partner and want to seek judicial protection through injunction proceedings, you can do so immediately by getting a court order without giving the respondent notice. However, the protection provided by this sort of order, which includes the ability to arrest the respondent if the order is broken, will not begin until the order is served. In this situation, a process server will be necessary to serve the order as quickly as possible while also proving service. This would be the best way to ensure your safety and security, while moving forward in the legal process.
A process server is tasked with delivering various legal documents to a lawsuit’s parties. Writs, subpoenas to produce papers and/or testify in court, official complaints, and summonses to appear in court are all examples of this. A process server can assist you in locating a defendant so that service of process can be made. Because most states require that court documents be served by neutral third parties above the age of 18, litigants frequently engage process servers. After filing a complaint, the plaintiff must personally serve it on the defendant. Substituted service of process, such as service by publication, may be permitted in certain circumstances.
Hiring a certified process server will assist you in ensuring that your legal documents are delivered to the appropriate recipient. The complicated laws of process-serving are known and understood by a registered process server. Working with a skilled process server can save you time and money by avoiding frequent service of process blunders. A process server can assist you in locating a “hard to find” individual or someone who is attempting to escape service entirely.
After filing a complaint with the court, the plaintiff will have a certain amount of time to serve the defendant with the court summons and complaint. If the plaintiff fails to serve the defendant within that time frame, the plaintiff must refile his or her complaint and begin the process serving process all over again. The court will not proceed with a complaint unless proof is shown to the court that the defendant has been properly notified. As a result, the plaintiff is compelled to serve the defendant as soon as possible. Hiring a certified process server helps ensure that the defendant receives the court summons and complaint on time.
In addition to the initial need of personal service, subsequent legal documents filed against each party must be responded to within a certain time frame. A process server is also frequently brought on board to ensure that subsequent legal documents are also served on time. As a party in a legal matter, it is important for you to be able to distinguish between service of process and serving of subsequent documents. The term “service of process” refers to the act of notifying a party that a legal proceeding or lawsuit has been filed against him or her. During the hearing, following documents, such as motion papers or discovery between parties, are served. A process server may be also required to personally serve the documents on the defendant depending on the type of request, such as a subpoena for business records or other confidential or official documents which are required during the legal proceedings.
Employing the services of a professional process server would also ensure that the documents are served promptly. This is especially true if your service is related to an upcoming court hearing or deposition, since there may be laws requiring that a party be served within a certain time frame prior to the event in order for your case to progress correctly. Professional process servers do a substantial percentage of their work in the area of service of process. Process servers are also well-versed in the Rules of Civil Procedure and the rules governing proper process service. They know how to properly serve people in a variety of jurisdictions and are also mandated to fill up an Affidavit of Service that proves they did their due diligence.
Hiring someone who is familiar with your jurisdiction’s laws can provide you peace of mind that the legal documents are delivered to the other party in compliance with the appropriate rules. It can be a frustrating situation if notice is not given correctly. In rare cases, a lack of notice might render a case’s outcome null and void. It can also save you time if you hire a professional process server to handle everything. Process servers must be 18 years old and a non-party, according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and several states, therefore having someone who does not fit this description perform service can imperil your case.
Therefore, if you are looking to serve someone, hiring a professional process server is guaranteed to be the safest and most efficient way to ensure your legal matters move forward in a timely manner.
If you are ever in need of experienced process servers, then Lafayette Process Servers is your answer! Contact us at 1-866-237-2853 or send us an email inquiry at [email protected]
And that wraps up our episode for today. Thank you for listening and we’ll see you next time!
If there was something specific that you’d like us to chat about in a future episode, please let us know, and we would love to cover it for you. We’ll be sure to respond promptly. Thank you again for listening and, until next week, thanks for tuning into our podcast!
The foregoing podcast has simply been presented for informational purposes only. He or those at Lafayette Process Servers LLC are not attorneys. Laws and regulations vary among states and specific jurisdictions. If you seek further information about this topic or any other legal issues, please contact an attorney or lawyer in your local area.
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