The term “service of process” is common in legal circles, but, not so much for the everyday person. What is “process” and why does it have to be “served?”
In simple terms, process is the legal document or documents that initiate a new case – typically the complaint and the summons. The summons provides critical information to the defendant such as any deadline to file a response to the complaint, the name and address of the attorney representing the plaintiff, the case style indicating the parties to the case, and the case number – essentially it is official notification of the lawsuit.
The complaint explains what the lawsuit is about and identifies what damages or relief the plaintiff is seeking. These two documents are commonly referred to as “initial process.”
This initial process must be “served” upon the defendant. A plaintiff (the party initiating the lawsuit) cannot just hand the defendant a copy of the summons and complaint. Instead, process must be served by someone authorized to do so – not only that, but unlike the movies where a stranger walks up to the main character and says “you’re served” and then hustles off quickly, there are rules to make sure service of process is done correctly and timely.
In Florida, the Sheriff’s Office is authorized to serve process (along with other legal documents). Additionally, Florida Statutes allows for certain individuals to qualify as private process servers who can serve certain types of documents including initial process. Upon service, the Sheriff’s Deputy or the private process server will complete a “return of service” or “affidavit of service” which is a sworn statement that they served the documents in accordance with Florida law. The sworn document is crucial to the initial stages of litigation as all deadlines for responding to a complaint start once the service date has been determined.
In certain circumstances the law allows for service upon a resident aged 15 or older when the person to be served is not home – this can be a surprise to both teen and parent. Given that Florida law does allow for service upon co-residents, it is important for parents or roommates to at least discuss what needs to happen if they are served – certainly you do not want your teenage child to just throw the papers someplace and forget to tell you that the Sheriff came to visit the house!
Once someone has been properly served, even if that someone is not a defendant in the case, the clock is ticking!! Missing a deadline because your child or roommate forgot to tell you they were served on your behalf can be a crucial mistake. You should immediately consider seeking the services of an attorney to determine the next steps – waiting until the day your answer is due will not give an attorney sufficient time to consider a proper answer or any counterclaims you may have.
Even businesses that are being sued are subject to being served – but there are specific rules for serving a business. If you are an employer, you should have a procedure in place so that employees will know what to do.
There are other methods to service of process which are outside the scope of this short blog post, however, suffice it to say confirmation of proper service by the plaintiff upon the defendant is an important part of any litigated matter regardless of which side of the table you are on.
So, now you know the movies and tv shows don’t exactly do it right although they may convey the spirit behind “service of process.” If you have been served and need assistance, we are here to help you.