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Small Claims
How Does the Defendant Find Out About the
Claim?
You must make sure the defendant finds
out
about the lawsuit. This has to be done
according
to the rules or your case may be dismissed
or delayed. The correct way of telling
the
defendant about the lawsuit is called
service of process. This means giving the defendant a copy
of the claim. YOU CANNOT DO THIS YOURSELF.
Here are four ways to serve the defendant.
Service by a law officer
- You may ask the Sheriff's Office in the county
where the defendant will be served.
- A fee will be charged.
Process Server
- You may ask anyone who IS NOT a party in
your case and who is at least 18
years old
to serve the defendant.
- The person is called a process server and
must personally give a copy of your
claim
to the defendant.
- The person must also sign a proof of service
form showing when the defendant was
served.
- Registered process servers will do this for
you for a fee. You may also ask a
friend
or relative to do it.
Certified Mail
- You may ask the clerk of the court to serve
the defendant by certified mail.
The clerk
will charge a fee.
- You should check back with the clerk before
the court hearing to see if the receipt
for
certified mail was returned to the
court.
- Service by certified mail must be done by
the clerk's office. You cannot serve
the
defendant this way yourself.
Substituted Service
- This method lets you serve another person
in place of the defendant. you must
follow
the procedures carefully. You may
also wish
to use the Sheriff's Office or a
registered
process server.
- A copy of your claim must be left:
- With the defendant's authorized agent; or
- At the defendant's business with the person
in charge; or
- At the defendant's home with a competent
person who is at least 18 years
old; and
- The person who receives the claim must be
told about its contents; and
- Another copy must be mailed, first class,
postage prepaid, to the defendant
at the
address where the claim was left.
The service
is not complete until 10 days after
the copy
is mailed.
No matter which method of service you
choose,
the defendant must be served by a certain
date or the trial will be postponed.
If the
defendant lives in the county, service
must
be completed at least 10 days before
the
trial date. This period is 15 days
if the
defendant lives outside the county.
The person who serves the defendant
must
sign a court paper showing when the
defendant
was served. This paper is called Proof
of
Service. It must be signed and returned
to
the clerk's office as soon as the defendant
has been served.
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