Brooklyn Judge Denies Service of Process by Facebook

As we are constantly trying to determine what will be the parameters in using service of process via social media accounts, a new case in Brooklyn held that a woman attempting to serve her husband via Facebook could not be granted as the husband was not an active user of the platform.  According to the record, Manal Qaza and husband Abdulla Saeed Hazza Alshalabi were married in New York in 2011.  Her husband left New York without any contact information about two months afterwards.  Qaza stated that Alshalabi was deported and she was not aware of where his present location was.

She thereafter began an matrimonial action and filed a motion for an Order allowing her to serve her husband by publication via Facebook.  She stated that she had made numerous attempts to personally serve him at last known addresses and even attempted to contact family members to determine where his current whereabouts were.  She believed that Alshalabi was in Saudi Arabia as she alleges two Facebook profiles indicated that it was his current location.  She said that she was in contact with him through Facebook.  She argued that in Saudi Arabia she could not ensure service and the costs for publishing in a paper in Saudi Arabia would be out of her means.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Sunshine denied Qaza's request stating that the plaintiff failed to authenticate that her husband's Facebook profile was actually his and, assuming it was, that he actually uses the profile to communicate. He noted the profile hasn't been updated since April 2014.  Also Qaza never gave proof that she communicated with Alshalabi on Facebook in the past.

Although courts are much more open to use this type of substituted service, this case shows that there must be some proof that the parties have engaged in communication using the method in the past.  The party requesting the service would have the burden of proof to show that this method would reasonably give notice to the party to be served that an action has commenced against them.  There were not any indications of that Alshalabi had used Facebook or engaged in communication with Qaza since she did not offer any proof to the contrary.  This area of process service in New York is evolving daily.  Cases are constantly appearing in New York City courts that will either limit or expand this type of substituted service.

Should you need any assistance with service in the NYC area then DJ&H Process Service can assist you.  We have over 20 years of experience serving legal documents in the 5 boroughs and surrounding regions.  You can contact us at 718-843-1184 if you need assistance with the process service of any of your legal papers.

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Federal Magistrate Judge Authorizes Service of Process via Twitter

A Federal Magistrate Judge in San Francisco, Laurel Beeler has approved the use of Twitter for service of process.  The case involves an international citizen of Kuwait who is an active user of the social media platform.  According to the case, the alleged defendant is engaged in the financing of terrorist activities and used Twitter to actively raise funds and promote activities.  He also has a huge Twitter following according to the record and the parties attempting to serve the Defendant has had difficulties effectuating personal service.  Please find the Order here.

According to 4(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure:

 

Rule 4 – Summons
(f) Service Upon Individuals in a Foreign Country. Unless otherwise provided by federal law, service upon an individual from whom a waiver has not been obtained and filed, other than an infant or an incompetent person, may be effected in a place not within any judicial district of the United States:
(1) by any internationally agreed means reasonably calculated to give notice, such as those means authorized by the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents; or
(2) if there is no internationally agreed means of service or the applicable international agreement allows other means of service, provided that service is reasonably calculated to give notice:
(A) in the manner prescribed by the law of the foreign country for service in that country in an action in any of its courts of general jurisdiction; or
(B) as directed by the foreign authority in response to a letter rogatory or letter of request; or
(C) unless prohibited by the law of the foreign country, by
(i) delivery to the individual personally of a copy of the summons and the complaint; or
(ii) any form of mail requiring a signed receipt, to be addressed and dispatched by the clerk of the court to the party to be served; or
(3) by other means not prohibited by international agreement as may be directed by the court."
Judge Beeler concluded that Rule 4(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits use of service through Twitter.

This case is another example of the Courts extending their reach using social media.  A previous case has allowed service via Facebook after the initiating party had exhausted all his remedies and there was a pattern of the defendant using the social media platform to communicate in the past. It is another example of the Courts accepting that social media is a reliable method of communication however there have been plenty of concerns of the over-use of this method of service.  All prior cases have shown that the serving party would have to attempt several methods before service by social media is even considered.

If you need help with service of process in Federal Court or in the NYC, we can assist you.  DJ&H Process Service has expertise serving all form of legal documents for over 20 year.  You can contact us at 718-845-1184 if you need assistance serving legal documents in New York City or surrounding regions or should you have any questions.

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Will Dog Bites be treated as an Assault on Process Servers in New York City?

As we have recently published in a previous article, a bill has been signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo which includes provisions incorporating new elements to second-degree assault provisions of state Penal Law, §120.05.  The statute has been amended to make it a crime of inflicting an injury on process servers “with intent to prevent or obstruct” the performance of their duties.  The bill specifically provided that it should be considered assault by a person who seeks to prevent a process server from doing his job by “releasing or failing to control an animal” such as a dog.

This has caused a huge celebration in the process service industry as many injuries have been caused by parties to be served intentionally allowing their dogs to roam free leading to injuries to process servers doing their jobs in New York City.  Process servers are constantly injured by dogs that are roaming free and there is no case more illustrative of this than a process server in Texas being killed by several loose dogs.  According to the report which you can read here, the owners of where the dogs were free were not present at the time that the process server was killed and possibly would not be charged with a crime.

It is the intentional acts that will be prosecuted under this provision in New York City. 

 According to Larry Yellon, President of the New York State Professional Process Server Association the statutes "“It contains a clause on animals, so if you let a dog loose to attack a process server, it’s a felony.”   Process servers must still be aware of their surroundings.  Although the assault provision will cover retaliatory behavior it certainly doesn't look like it will cover the homeowner who just leaves their dog outside for an entire day to menace the entire neighborhood.  With that being said, dog bites will be more extensively covered under the additional to the Penal Law.  Process servers in New York City, like all other workers deserve to do their job without harm and this is certainly a good step forward.

http://djhprocessservice.net/will-dog-bites-treated-assault-process-servers-new-york-city/

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