Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in North Carolina

Nted is Can you lose a small claims court/get a judgment against you, if you were never served with vourt summons?. I am an interpreter by profession and most of the time I work with attorneys and at the court, that being said, people that know me usually come yo me for an idea of what they might expect regarding their legal troubles, I do not give them advise I just share my experiences with similar cases with them. So my neighbor asked me if he could be given a judgment against him or lose small claims for not showing up, he tells me he received a call from a from a friend of his that lives at a house that is owned by the same person that my neighbor rented from in the past, my neighbors friend told him that the landlord is looking for him and told him that he had filed a small claims court suit for contract default etc... My neighbor says he has not heard directly from the landlord nor has he been served with summons to court (also, the property he rented is in another county) he also tell me that he had a second person co-sign the contract but they have not been served either. So I could not answer his questions because I don't know how that would work with my neighbor living out of county and the landlord not knowing my neighbor's new address. Could he lose the case? Does he have to be served in perwon or could they technically just leave a dummons on his previous residense and expect him to know?. Any help with this question would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 4/23/13, 8:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kenneth Love Ken Love Law

Ok, your question was slightly jumbled but form what I can tell your friend was sued for either possession of a rental home or for money owed. If she was sued for possession for breach of a lease, the sheriff will serve this by attempting to personally serve and leaving it at the home (it which it can blow away or otherwise get lost), and a judgment for possession can be entered against him.

If the suit was for money owed, it has to be served personally on him, there are many rules on what can constitute personal service. He should check with the clerk of court to see if such an action as field against him and if proof of service was filed.

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Answered on 4/23/13, 8:38 am


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