Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia

I filed a civil lawsuit against someone for breach of contract. They moved out of state just prior to being officially served by the processor server. Consequently, the service order was returned to the court clerked marked not served.

If the defendant has moved out of state, can he be served by U.S. mail?

Also can the defendant still be sued in the state court where I live (GA) though he may no longer reside in the state?


Asked on 5/03/13, 8:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

First of all, you should have seen a lawyer before filing anything. Serving bad paperwork could be worse than serving nothing.

Lawsuits in Georgia cannot be served by mail. As to whether you can procced in Georgia, that depends of things you did not tell us including details of the suit, and when the defendant moved versus when the suit was filed.

Depending on the details you didn't give, and need to give your lawyer, you may be able to use an out of state process server, or other means. Note that if your Defendant isn't in Georgia, unless the defendant has assets in Georgia, you will have a worthless piece of paper unless you hire someone in his new state to domesticate any judgment and collect it there.

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Answered on 5/03/13, 9:06 pm


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