Process Servers and Their Tactics

I'd like to start a new thread on this topic. Seems to me that the abuse starts from the moment you are "served". From personal experience and from speaking with others, I would estimate that at least 50% of servings are illegal. Mispelled names, incorrect names, abbreviated names, etc. seem to run rampant.



An attorney friend has told me that process servers are usually well conntected to the court they serve, as in they're the judge's brother-in-law. This is why they operate with impunity.



If anyone has any knowledge of the laws, rules, regulations, codes, bond requirements, whatever, controlling the behavior of these mercenaries, please share it with the rest of us.



Thanks.

[seeker]

Well, here's something I found out -- the hard way -- they lure you into court with that bad summons and then serve you with an Alias summons --look it up in Black's -- makes the bad summons go away and takes it's place, in effect. Oh we screwed up, but as long as you're here --- My spouse's summons had a bunch of errors. I'm not actually sure the date of service or the time are right! There was never one served to me -- come to think of it, the credit card keeps changing headings often for the court docs -- sometimes both of us are lsited sometimes just my spouse -- what's up with that?



Seeker

I would attribute the changing of the names to the chop shop approach that debt attorneys take. They don't know you from Adam, you're just another file to them. This can work to your advantage if you can leverage it. For example, you might use it to compel the collectors to produce the original note(s) in order to prove whose name(s) actually appear on it since everything else they have produced to date is confusing.



I'm sure there are other ways of using their disorganization against them. Make sure there is judicial notice taken of everything that you do to reveal their disorganization and incompetence.

[KaosTheory]

I don't know this from experience but I have read material from Howard Griswald that says the way to handle any court summons is to return it to the court within 3 days. Failure to do so indicates "Acceptance" under their rules. The summons should be returned in a separate envelope with a neutral response cover letter that states that the "Contents" (summons) is unacknowledgable.



There is more to it but this is the basic approach.

I checked with my attorney friend and this is how he, and presumably "their" side, sees it:



"Private process servers usually work on contingecy. Constables and sheriffs get paid regardless of results.



The process server does not have the ability to change the name on any paperwork. The plaintiff's lawyer is responsible for preparing the complaint, and the clerk prepars the summons based upon the name given to him by the plaintiff's lawyer.



The process server's job is to identify and get the summons and complaint in the hands <u>of the person named in the summons and complaint as the guy the plaintiff wants money from,</u> regardless of what the defendant's birth certificate says or what he commonly is called."



Seems to me that if the paperwork does not exactly match your name as it appeared on the "debt" contract, then you are under no obligation to accept it. The reason that this is important is as follows: if you have sent them a VOD with a TN and they have changed your name slightly in a useless atttempt to get around the TN, then not only can you invoice them for use of a variation of you trademarked name, but you can also refuse the service.



It then becomes interesting for them when the processs server returns their paperwork to them and then a day or two later they get your invoice. You should immediately send your invoice upon rejection of service. Don't delay. The psychological impact of having service returned along with immediately receiving an invoice for $500,000 is devastating.

i haven't seen or heard of anyone successfully collecting on such an invoice. so, afaiac, invoicing is a waste of time and energy as it yields nothing. in fact, the "other side" will simply laugh it off and proceed regardless.



refusing service, on the other hand, can get one in extremely hot water, so i'd be very cautious about that.



jon

[KaosTheory]

How would refusing service get one in hot water?

JMunson,



Reread the attorney's statement. Your are under no obligation to accept anything without the appropriate name on it. If it does have the appropriate name on it and you refuse, they will likely motion the court to authorize the service processsor to leave the summons at your "known" address. If you do not repsond to that service, they will then go for summary judgment. And if you don't show up for the summary judgment hearing, you know the rest...

kaostheory - buscador's reply answers your question. although he neglected to mention the possibility of arrest, which makes good defense even more difficult.



ignoring something doesn't make it go away. if you want to remove a louse, you remove it, you do not let it lie.



this forum is full of ways to defend, in court, against malicious suites. therefore i see no reason to refuse to accept a service of a suite. acceptance of a suite doesn't mean you are the so-captioned DEFENDANT.



however, not dealing with it leads down a path into a tangled wood that requires more than a machete to disentangle and get out of.



"better to cut off the hand that steals lest it offend ye."



jon

[b]JMunson



Process Servers do not have the authority to arrest you, nor do constable and sheriffs for refusing service for the reason I stated above. They may try to initmidate you, but it is a bluff. Politely but firmly refuse acceptance.



The worst that I have experienced is a constable throwing his papework at me out of exasperation. I called his superior and returned the paperwork to him. He returned two weeks later with the correct name on the paperwork and a sheepish grin. We shook hands and he apologized for over reacting. He said that no one had ever refused service and he hadn't known what to do. (Another interesting insight into the legal world: those in the "profession" don't understand their legal limitations and, more importantly, the rights of those whom they are supposed to serve. I guess the system is indeed replete with ignorance and abuse from the bottom up, never mind from the top down)



I don't accept anything from anyone and then attempt to correct it. If they want to bring war to my doorstep then they better have their ducks in a precise, military formation of a row. I'm not correcting anything. I'm not doing their work for them. I'm not helping them in any way. My scorched earth camapaign against those who attempt to pirate my property through shameless FRAUD and manipulation of the legal system starts right from the get go. I am providing them a harbinger of things to come.



It has never become an issue with the court unless I bring it up. How do you think they look telling the Judge that they didn't know who they were sueing? It's an embarrassment to them. They pay the constable for re-service so he is happy and so is the court. For both of them it's all about getting paid. I am happy in that I have won the opening skirmish. And then again, sometimes I will accept incorrectly styled service and save it to use against them later on before the Court should it damage their credibility further.



Learn to pick your battles. That's half way to winning the war.[b]