Service of Process
Registered Agent and Serving ProcessService of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to
a person (defendant etc.) of a court or administrative body's exercise
of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to
respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal.
Usually, notice is furnished by delivering a set of court documents to
the person to be served.
Service
Each jurisdiction has rules regarding the means of service of process.
Typically, a summons and related documents must be served upon the
defendant personally, or in some cases upon another person of suitable
age and discretion at the person's abode or place of business or
employment. In some cases, service of process may be effected through
the mail as in some small claims court procedures. In exceptional cases,
other forms of service may be authorized by procedural rules or court
order, including service by publication when an individual cannot be
located in a particular jurisdiction.
Proper service of process initially establishes personal jurisdiction of
the court over the person served. If the defendant ignores further
pleadings or fails to participate in the proceedings, then the court or
administrative body may find the defendant in default and award relief
to the claimant, petitioner or plaintiff. Service of process must be
distinguished from service of subsequent documents (such as pleadings
and motion papers) between the parties to litigation.
In past times in many countries, people didn't have the right to know
that there were legal proceedings against them, and in some cases would
only find out when magistrates showed up with the sheriff and seized
their property, sometimes throwing them into debtor's prisons until
their debts were paid. When the United States was founded, the
Constitution said that everyone is entitled to due process of law,
therefore the process server is "serving" the servee with their
constitutional right to due process of the law.
In ancient times the service of a summons was considered a royal act
that had serious consequences. It was a summons to come to the King's
Court and to respond to the demand of a loyal subject. In ancient
Persia, failure to respond to the King's summons meant a sentence of
death. Today the penalty for ignoring a summons is usually a default
money judgment that must be subsequently enforced.
Service of process in cases filed in the United States district courts
is governed by Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In
England and Wales, the rules governing service of documents are
contained within Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 [1].
Service on a defendant who resides in a country outside the jurisdiction
of the Court must comply with special procedures prescribed under the
Hague Service Convention, if the recipient's country is a signatory.
Service on defendants in many South American countries and some other
countries is effected through the Letter Rogatory process. Where a
defendant's whereabouts are unknown, the Court may permit service by
publication, usually in a newspaper.
To have your legal documents delivered and served upon a business,
corporation and Registered Agent Please call or email us.
Telephone, 561. 447. 7638 Or, email
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