Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland
being served legal court papers
a friend of mine was to be served on April 16 1999. The person to serve her shoud up un anounced at 9:00 when she was not home to recieve them. he their for said she was avoiding service and after I had asked him for a phone number to contact him he said the document woul expire by 12:00am that night. She did contact him when she got home but the person serving the paper said he was not going to drive back to give her the papers. is th fact that she did not get the legal documents her fault even though she tried and he answered with this result and what should we do about it?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: being served legal court papers
The obligation to get the papers served is the Plaintiff's. It does not sound like your friend was evading service, and even if the server is able to convince a judge to permit alternate service, the alternate service will most likely be by mail or posting the papers at her address, or both.
Susan Zuhowski
The Law Offices of Susan Zuhowski, P.A.
P.O. Box 1466
Re: being served legal court papers
Your question is somewhat vague, especially as to why your friend wants to be served with process, and you do not indicate what the matter involves. However, it is the plaintiff's responsibility to secure service of process on the defendant. If your friend is being as cooperative as you indicate, then she will, in all likelihood, be served with process, and the plaintiff will not have to take further action.
If the plaintiff can show she is evading service of process, the court can allow the plaintiff to serve by "alternative means." There are several means of alternative service, including mailing the summons and complaint to the defendant's last known address by first class mail, or posting the same at that address.
Jamie Marthaler
Kandel & Associates P.A.
100 Light Street Suite 1010
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