When Is Service By Publication Allowed in New York City

There are many times that a legal action needs to be initiated and the Defendant is nowhere to be found.  They have left without no known address and there are not any people around that will assist you in finding them.  In an instance such as this, service by publication may be permitted by a judge.  This is when a judge allows you to publish the papers initiating the action in a newspaper or other publication.  Before you get to the part where a judge will allow service by publication, you would have to show that you have exhausted all of your other remedies and this is one of the last resorts.  We have recently found in an unusual circumstance that Courts in NYC have allowed service via facebook but service by publication is much more the norm.  Exhausting all your remedies would include attempt personal service at the last known address or at the place of business.  Trying to use substituted service is sometimes also allowed however if you cannot find the person then notice of publication would most likely be allowed.  The notice of publication would set forth guidelines that the judge will determine and also allow a certain time-frame for it to be performed.  The most common type of action that notice of publication is used is in real estate and divorce actions.  Generally the notice must be published in the newspaper more than once, such as once a week for a number of weeks. When a certain time has lapsed since initial publication, such as 45 days the service can be deemed effectuated.

 §  315.  Service  by  publication authorized.   The court, upon motion
  without notice, shall order service of a summons by  publication  in  an
  action  described  in  section  314 if service cannot be made by another
  prescribed method with due diligence.

With respect to notice of publication, you can put the legal document (Initiating legal document) in a newspaper.  It doesn't matter if the publication is a local one or a large one like The Daily News.  However, it would be more cost effective as small publications costs a fraction of what a publication with a bigger based would have.  The idea is to give the defendant what is called constructive notice to the individual.  The court would deem the service appropriate even if the newspaper is read by the defendant or not. Also it would be appropriate to put the publication in a publication where the defendant should have seen it.  That would mean in a newspaper that would serve a region that the defendant has been known to live in the past.

Service of publication takes a few steps to get to.  It would be appropriate to hire an experience process server to handle the steps before in order to show the Court that you have used the highest level of care before you ask for the publication option.  DJ&H Process Service would be one that can assist you in your process service in NYC.  Should you have any questions about service by publication or anything else, please call us at 718-843-1184. We are a licensed NYC based process service agency.

http://djhprocessservice.net/service-publication-allowed-new-york-city/

What Happens When An Individual is Evading a Process Server in New York City?

A lawsuit can not officially commence until the defendant is served with the legal papers in New York City.  Many individuals believe that they can avoid the lawsuit or even have it dismissed if they evade the process server altogether.  This is a common falsehood that defendants make.  The law provides that although personal service is necessary in most cases, the Court can allow other options for service if there is knowledge that the party is attempting to evade process or there isn't enough information as to the address of the party to be personally serve.

To begin with, the easiest option on service is personal service if you can get it.  Personal service is when a process server personally hands the legal document initiating a court case on to a defendant. This is the best option for service, and New York requires that it be attempted multiple times before a plaintiff turns to the alternative methods.  With respect to personal service, the papers do not have to touch the individual or needed to be acknowledged.  You can drop the papers in front of the person and say "You Joe Smith have been served and most likely the Court would deem that personal service.  The process server would have to describe the individual served, the location of service and any other particulars that would make it succinct to the Court that the party to the action was delivered the legal papers.  It is advisable to have GPS coordinates and a photograph of the area and or of the person if possible as well.

If the individual to be served is great at avoiding process that it would be impossible to get to the point of personal service then a Plaintiff can seek alternatives.  The Court can allow these alternatives depending on their discretion.  The alternatives would be a)Leaving court papers at the defendant's home or business with a competent adult; and/or b) Mailing a copy of the summons and complaint via certified mail to the defendant's home or business.   If this information is not known or if it is difficult or not possible, a judge will grant the plaintiff permission to serve you via publication. This involves taking out ads in local newspapers.  It will cost some money to publish but you can use a local newspaper where the party's last known address was.  The party to be served does not have to see the service but it would let the world know that a lawsuit has been initiated.  That would be sufficient for the Court.

Evading process is very difficult to do in New York City.  Although it may take time to serve using alternative methods, eventually you will get your man.  If you need assistance with the service of legal papers in New York City we can help at DJ&H Process Service.  Call us at 718-843-1184 if you need assistance.

http://djhprocessservice.net/what-happens-when-an-individual-is-evading-process-server-in-new-york-city/