Process servers deliver court documents to a person summoned to appear in court. Contrary to what anyone may believe, bailiffs are not simply messengers who deliver subpoenas, but rather uphold a person’s constitutional right to due process; These subpoenas essentially let people know that they must appear in court on a specific date.
Depending on how and where you are treated, you might be surprised. However, the process notice is an essential part of any lawsuit to ensure you receive accurate case details. This article explains the answer to the question “Can a server leave papers at your door?”, including what a server can or cannot do. Let’s dig!
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What is process delivery?
Each party to a case must be notified if legal proceedings are instituted against it in the United States. Process delivery or servicers are an essential part of the due process of the legal system. The laws governing service of process and the rules of civil or judicial procedure vary from state to state. Service of subpoenas, complaints, subpoenas, warrants, and orders are examples of service of court proceedings. “Replacement Delivery” is a form of delivery. In this legal notification procedure, the documents are deposited with an adult resident of the identified person at the target person’s place of residence or with an executive employee at the target person’s place of business. In some cases, posting in a conspicuous location followed by a copy by registered mail is an acceptable form of delivery.
You cannot provide any documents in a case you are involved in. If you are 18 or older and not a party to the case, you may be allowed to self-serve documents depending on your location. Other states, on the other hand, require professional process servers to be licensed or registered.
Expedited or Urgent Service
When documents need to be delivered faster, you can opt for expedited services. They usually cost more than standard delivery and your documents will be delivered a few days faster.
In general, this service usually takes between 3 and 5 days.
If you need someone to be seen as soon as possible, you can choose the same-day service. This option generally costs more than routine and expedited services and may not be available if you contact your process server late in the day. Always call to check availability.
When choosing a process server, be sure to ask if it will only do what is necessary to introduce due diligence. If the answer is yes, look for another server.
Often an extra attempt or two above the minimum decides whether a work is delivered or not. Professional process servers will know if a document has a good chance of being delivered with just a few more tries. If they have already visited the house several times and nothing has ever changed (e.g. the mail is still on the porch, nothing has been moved in front of the house, there are never any cars in the driveway), the server can conclude, that the accused is away on vacation or otherwise. Further attempts do not help and only prolong the case, allowing the server to decide to return the document as if it didn’t.
Besides the obvious situation where a server delivers the documents to the defendant on the first attempt, there are some situations where only one attempt is made. This is not the result of laziness, but the circumstance of the situation. If, on the first attempt, the server sees that the house is unoccupied or the person answering the door tells it that the accused does not live there, the server will stop trying. There’s no point in knocking on an empty door or upsetting someone who has already said we have the wrong address.