Evasive Individuals

Process servers are a fundamental part of the legal system. The requirements for due process rights maintain that an individual must be informed of any complaints against them and their involvement in any legal proceedings. This is where your process server comes in. When legal documents, such as a writ, complaint, subpoena or summons, are delivered to an individual this is called process service.

Occasionally an individual may be difficult to locate or purposely evasive. They may wrongly assume that if they avoid receiving legal paperwork, such as a subpoena or court summons, that they will be able to avoid the entire legal process.

Though an evasive individual can definitely complicate process service and delay a case temporarily, the delay will not be perpetual. The judge presiding over the case will in the course of time allow for proceedings to continue if the requirements for due diligence have been fulfilled.

A skilled and experienced process server, however, will have the training and qualifications to complete service in the vast majority of scenarios.

It is not often that a process server finds an individual difficult to locate when armed with the basic pertinent information by their client, such as a name, addresses for home and work, phone numbers, vehicle make and model, and a physical description.

In the event that the individual receiving documents is attempting to be evasive some more information can be helpful. Information such as frequently visited locations, traveling routes for work, regular routines during leisure times, addresses of friends and family, etc.

The majority of individuals being served papers will have those documents delivered to them at their homes or places of employment. A process server may need to return multiple times to the individual’s home or even wait for them to return home from work to complete service. When completing service at an individual’s place of employment a process server may leave the documents with the individual’s boss or manager when the individual is proving evasive.

When service of process is proving difficult at home or work, a process server may need to get more creative. They may browse social media to locate the individual in a public area such as a concert or restaurant. An individual can also be served as they leave another court proceeding or are coming from their attorney’s office.

While in-person process will always be the best approach, if a process server has made several unsuccessful attempts at completing service they may recommend that their client requests permission for alternate service.

If you need to serve a subpoena in New Jersey, or any other legal documents, hiring a knowledgeable process server is essential to protecting against delays or even dismissal of a court case.