Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Arizona

Re: people search

You can talk with your process server or an investigator/process server to try to find a Defendant. Remember that the time to serve the Defendant allowed by the rule is passing and you may have to refile if you wait too long.

This is another possible option that you may explore. If you cannot find the Defendant and the process server will verify that he/she attempted service, then you may petition the court for alternative service by publication.

Rule 4.1 (n) controls in many situations. But you may also refer to Rules 4 and 4.1 regarding service. There are other relevant rules as well and I would need to speak with you if I were to give you specific advice according to your particular case. What I mention here are just general rules, and I obviously don't know if they apply.

If you serve by publication, it is my experience that the Defendant will not answer the complaint. If the Defendant fails to answer, you may then apply for a default judgment pursuant to Rule 55.

Something significant about a default judgment is that you may receive attorney fees as part of the judgment. Consequently, you may consider using an attorney to serve by publication and seek the default judgment.

Best of luck.