Often asked: Why Would You Be Served Papers?

The only reason a process server would serve you documents is because someone is suing you or you are a party in a legal proceeding. This could be during a divorce, for child support, in a small claims matter, or any other legal matter.

Why would someone be serving me papers?

The papers may be a notice of an urgent hearing seeking immediate relief, a lawsuit against you, or a subpoena requiring you to produce documents or testify. You may have been served individually, or your company may have been served. The papers may be from a federal court or a court of the state.

What types of papers are served?

The process servers are also entitled to serve the following documents:

• Divorce Petitions.
• Summons or Claim forms.
• Statutory Demands.
• Bankruptcy Petitions or Winding Up Petitions.
• Freezing Orders.
• Legal Documents.
• Subpoenas.
• Writs.

Can someone else accept served papers?

When a process server is unable to leave the documents with the defendant, they can sometimes serve the papers on another person. Leaving the papers with somebody who is not the defendant is called substitute service, or just subservice. We have already discussed leaving papers with a relative at great length.

What happens when you have been served?

Someone has just handed you a document and tells you that you have been served with a Complaint, Writ, or Statement of Claim (also known as the Originating Process). Those legal documents are a means for commencing Court proceedings against a party (you, for instance).

What am I being served for?

What Does It Mean To Be Served? Being served with process means that the due process and statutory requirements for giving notice to a defendant about a legal action have been met. Each state and type of action can have slightly different requirements, but it’s common to require personal service to be attempted first.

How does getting served Work?

A legal process server delivers (serves) court documents to the defendant or individual listed on the legal document being served. Once a process server delivers the documents, an Affidavit of Service, also called a Proof of Service, is notarized and given to the party who requested the service.

How do you find out if someone is trying to serve you papers?

1 attorney answer Be sure to search the court websites for Superior Court, State Court and Magistrate Court. Usually a case would be pending in the County where service is attempted (i.e., at your mother’s address), however, sometimes things are served

What happens if someone refuses to be served?

If someone does not accept the documents being served, and repeated attempts have been made by the process server, the party trying to serve the documents may bring a motion in court for an order allowing them to use an alternative or substitute method of service.

How do you avoid being served?

Instruct the roommates/family to tell the Process Server/Sheriff that the person they’re after no longer lives there. This may stop them from coming back. They will usually then write it off as a “non-service” on their proof of service.

How many times will a process server try to serve you?

Generally, process servers make at least three attempts to serve somebody. These attempts are normally made at different times of day and on different days to maximize our chance of serving the papers. We say “generally” because some jurisdictions prefer more than three.

Can a process server just leave papers at your door?

It may be tempting for a process server to leave the papers with anyone who might answer the door, especially in cases in which a party is avoiding service. The process server cannot leave the papers with anyone who is under the age of 18 years.