In our most recent posting (which I believe was yesterday), we talked about a man who initially didn't want to take the paperwork from us that we were serving on him.
Part of his (perhaps unconscious) reasoning may have been that "if it doesn't touch me, I'm not served."
On another occasion when I walked up to a man in a mobile home, as I was taking the paperwork out of its hiding place, he slammed the front door. Without thinking, I threw the papers towards that door and when the door closed, the papers were trapped between the door and its frame. Was he served?
You betcha'!!
A more recent example was serving a guy who'd driven into his driveway. His wife warned me that he'd try to evade service. I walked up to him and motioned for him to roll down the window (a gesture that's very cumbersome to describe with words alone). He did that and a similar thing happened. As I tried to hand him the papers, he rolled up his window, and I put them into the window opening, and walked away.
Here's the deal. The papers don't have to touch the person being served. If the guy in the mobile home had opened the door and let the papers fall to the ground and if they'd blown away and he never saw them, he'd be just as served as if he took the documents and read them with a magnifying glass.
All that's required is for the person to be made aware that he's being served with legal papers. He doesn't need to know the name of the case (though in my experience he usually knows who the other party is), and he doesn't need to know what the documents say. He (or she - we have no sexist intentions) obviously would be better off if (s)he took the documents and read them, but it's the party's choice, not mine.
If anyone's ever trying to serve you, you're much better off taking the papers. At least in Arizona, you'll be served, eventually, even if you never see the process server (that's me), and in our next posting we'll talk about two methods of alternate service that - if you're the party to be served - could really work to your disadvantage.
This blog is presented by Jeff Bushman of Lighthouse Attorney Service. We do process serving. Nothing contained should be considered as legal advice. Questions about process serving, and specifically, if you're representing yourself in a divorce or an eviction, can be directed to Jeff at: 480-628-9786 or lighthouseattorneyservice@gmail.com.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Welcome and Intro
Hello. If you're here, it may be because you've been using our services or are thinking about it. We welcome your comments and questions. The best ways to get to us are to email LighthouseAttorneyService@gmail.com (as you know email addresses aren't "case-sensitive" but I added capital letters to make the email address more readable), or to call Jeff's cell phone: 480-628-9786.
If you've used our services and have suggestions for improvement, they'd likewise be welcome.
Process serving is usually pretty easy, occasionally impossible, and almost always interesting. For that reason, I'll be sharing some stories in the future, in this space.
As an example, this morning (December 24, 2014), we served a guy who'd either been evading or was very lucky and not being home when we showed up. We received word that he walks his dog between 4:30 and 5:00 A.M., so this morning we showed at about 4:15 and waited. At 4:40, he and his German Shepherd walked outside through his garage.
Even though this is Arizona, it was cold, so after waiting in the car, instead of getting out, I drove up to him and said, "Agamemnon!" (not his real name, nor what I called him, which WAS his real name). He looked up at me and I held the papers outside of the car window. "These are for you, Sir."
"What are they?" he asked, keeping his hand to himself.
"They're legal papers, Sir, and I can drop them on the ground, or hand them to you, but either way, you're being served." He then took the documents.
I later let his wife (soon-to-be EX-wife, actually) know that he'd been served. She was very happy, told me that her prayers had been answered (I didn't know I was that powerful), and that I gave her the best gift she could get.
Frankly, that was a bit of exaggeration, but I understand her sense of relief.
OK, it was a lot of exaggeration.
If you're already a client of ours, thanks for reading and I'll look forward to talking with you soon. If not, and we can answer any questions for you, without obligation on your part, please feel free to get in touch.
Jeff
If you've used our services and have suggestions for improvement, they'd likewise be welcome.
Process serving is usually pretty easy, occasionally impossible, and almost always interesting. For that reason, I'll be sharing some stories in the future, in this space.
As an example, this morning (December 24, 2014), we served a guy who'd either been evading or was very lucky and not being home when we showed up. We received word that he walks his dog between 4:30 and 5:00 A.M., so this morning we showed at about 4:15 and waited. At 4:40, he and his German Shepherd walked outside through his garage.
Even though this is Arizona, it was cold, so after waiting in the car, instead of getting out, I drove up to him and said, "Agamemnon!" (not his real name, nor what I called him, which WAS his real name). He looked up at me and I held the papers outside of the car window. "These are for you, Sir."
"What are they?" he asked, keeping his hand to himself.
"They're legal papers, Sir, and I can drop them on the ground, or hand them to you, but either way, you're being served." He then took the documents.
I later let his wife (soon-to-be EX-wife, actually) know that he'd been served. She was very happy, told me that her prayers had been answered (I didn't know I was that powerful), and that I gave her the best gift she could get.
Frankly, that was a bit of exaggeration, but I understand her sense of relief.
OK, it was a lot of exaggeration.
If you're already a client of ours, thanks for reading and I'll look forward to talking with you soon. If not, and we can answer any questions for you, without obligation on your part, please feel free to get in touch.
Jeff
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