Legal Question in Traffic Law in California

If he dropped the papers at your feet or really near you, then usually personal service is considered to have been effected on you. The party trying to serve you will consider that service and will move forward. If you disagree, you would have to move the court to quash service but that will be decided in a hearing by the judge. It doesn't matter that the papers were not in an envelope, most of the time the papers are not. They could also do substitute service on you, which consists of leaving the papers with an adult at your house and then mail a copy to you. So, it really is futile to try to evade service.

If the person being served does not have to accept the papers for there to be legal service. If accepting the papers was a part of service no one would be served. The service you described is drop service. You are served whether or not you pick up the papers. The papers do not have to be in an envelope. Court files are, with a few exceptions, public documents. Anyone can go to the court house and look at the court file.