Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I paid $75 to a processing serving company to have the small claims court papers served on a defendant in Hayward. They have informed me that they have tried to serve the papers six times but the defendant who is inside does not open the door.

They are asking me now to pay them $40 per hour for a stake out, with the possibility of a few hundred dollars.

I cannot afford all the extra money. Is there a way for me to have the papers served on the defendant without all the extra money which is not even guaranteed?


Asked on 8/13/12, 1:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jacob Kiani Law Office of Jacob I. Kiani

Unfortunately, there is not much you can do. I have been stuck with a defendant evading process before and I know how frustrating it can be. I believe we ultimately ended serving the guy when he filed for bankruptcy and realized that the gig was up.

I do know there is a Cal Code Civ. Proc. section that states a gated community has to let a process server through the gates and onto the property for a reasonable amount of time for purposes of making a reasonable attempt at service.

I say the stakeouts aren't really worth the money. I have mine just continually go to the home. At some point your evader will give up. Process servers knocking on your doors all of the time gets annoying and it's also embarassing.

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Answered on 8/15/12, 8:18 pm


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