Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Michigan

Re: Serving court papers out of state

If the defendant is resident in the State of Michigan, you can serve him/her here and ask a Michigan court to take jurisdiction over the person to compel appearance.

However, as a practical matter, you really need to serve the person at BOTH locations, to ensure actual notice. Service at one place can be avoided, and you want to ensure that there is actual notice, as opposed to constructive notice. If service is repeatedly avoided, ask the court to allow service by publication.

That, or wait for him/her to get back to Detroit,--even if only in town for a day, local service should be good.

Use a process server, if possible, although your attorney can do it herself, it's better to have a neutral person do it if you're a party in the lawsuit.