Unlike criminal proceedings, where the accused persons are compelled to attend court, courts hearing civil matters generally don’t have the power to compel defendants to appear unless the defendants are given proper notice. This proper notice is called the “originating process.”
Under both the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Family Law Rules, the originating process requires that the defendants (or respondents in family law proceedings) be served with court documents personally.
For corporate defendants, generally you can leave the documents at any place of business of the corporation with a person who appears to be in charge.
For individuals, you need to find the individual and give the documents to him or her. If you can’t find the individual, you will have to use alternative methods as prescribed under the applicable Rules.
Most law firms hire process servers to satisfy these requirements.
What about individuals who know about the lawsuit and are evading service?
Both the Rules of Civil Procedure and the Family Law Rules provide that if you can show evidence that the individual defendant is evading service, you may bring a motion for substituted service. However, to obtain permission from the court for substituted service, you must show that the method you are proposing can reasonably be expected to bring the documents to the person’s attention.
