Service of process is the process through which a party to a lawsuit will give notice of legal action to another party – which can include the defendant, the court or the administrative body. For instance, an employee who has been injured at work might ‘serve’ their employer meaning that they’ve informed them that they intend to take them to court over the matter and likely with the intention of trying to secure compensation of some kind for their loss of earnings, legal expenses etc. This is a necessary part of any legal action in order to ensure that the defendant has adequate time to prepare themselves for the trial by getting their own representation for instance and amassing evidence. Normally your legal representation will use process servers in order to carry out this part of the process.
Each jurisdiction has different laws pertaining to the process and it’s important that the process server and your legal team be familiar with these laws. Usually, a summons and other documents related to the case will need to be served personally to the defendant personally. Service of process establishes ‘personal jurisdiction’ for the court over the person who has been served. Should the defendant then ignore pleadings or if they general do not participate in the proceedings, then the court can find the defendant in ‘default’ – which means relief will usually be awarded to the claimant.
Personal service means that the individual will be physically handed the summons, complaint or petition. In other cases though, depending on the law in the area, process servers can operate via mail.
Service of process is an important first step in any trial and so it is crucial to ensure that it is carried out correctly that that the process servers are adept in their role.
