Once you serve the difficult defendant or witness you must make it stick.  Know how to accurately complete the court approved Proof(s) of Service is key.  The Proof of Service is the document that will be filed with the court or maintained in the litigation file as proof that the defendant or witness was effectively served.  In many instances, improper service and improper filing or missing filing dates can jeopardize your case or even result in it being dismissed by the judge.  An accurate proof of service should be prepared electronically, utilizing software so that it is legible.  Additionally, the process server or investigator serving is required to personally sign the proof under penalty of perjury.  Many process servers sign proofs on behalf of their process servers; this is not a recommended practice.

At many investigation firms, a physical and/or electronic case file is maintained detailing information on the case work-up, service attempts and other details on the case in the event that the service or circumstances of the service are questioned at a later time.

When you are serving process involving civil cases, law enforcement will often side with the property owner, residents and guards at the gates.  This is merely because they are not trained in Code of Civil Procedure and only view their role from the criminal side.  They want to mitigate liability at all costs.  That said, they do not often understand that when you are serving process you are an officer of the court and you are permitted to trespass in order to effect service.  Law enforcement takes every step to mitigate liability and will not stick their proverbial necks out to help you get your target served.

You don’t want law enforcement called with lights and sirens when you are serving a difficult target so you must be tactful.  Abide by local rules, do not speed and do not park near parks and common areas.

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Verify that the subject resides at the address you are attempting by asking the proper questions when you make contact at the residence.  For example, you should not say, “Is Tom Smith home?”  Instead you should say, “Does Tom Smith live here?”  The latter is vital because per the code, you can sub-serve documents at a location where the defendant resides, receives mail or works.  Confirming that the subject resides at a residence is vastly different than just learning that the subject is not home.

Be observant while serving legal documents.  Look for packages left on the porch that could bear the subject’s name.  Discreetly talk to neighbors to verify residence and activities.  Note vehicles including license plates observed in the driveway or on the street adjacent to the residence.  You need to assemble information that supports further attempts at the address you have or to report back that the address is no good.

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