Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Texas

Service of civil citations

What I want to know is, Can a ''dirty'' service be proformed in the state of Texas in a civil action? Are there any remedies for service if the named defendant has moved and the current address is not known, but the address of a relative ie.(mother, father) is known? Is the service still legal if presented to the relative and how would you do this, if the filing court is in one county and the service must take place in a seperate county? What additional forms or motions must be filed before the court in order to proform this service?


Asked on 5/06/04, 4:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Peter Bradie Bradie, Bradie & Bradie

Re: Service of civil citations

Here in Texas we refer to that as "substitute service". That's covered under Rule 106 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. You have to make at least two attempts at personal service where the defendant may be located. If those are unsatisfactory, the process server should prepare an affidavit setting forth the attempts made and the reasonable expectation that a certain method of service will most likely give the defendant notice of the lawsuit. That affidavit supports the motion for substitute service using the recommended method.

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Answered on 5/06/04, 4:23 pm


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