Civil procedure rules require that plaintiffs notify defendants of the lawsuits filed against them; this is called “service of process.” Traditionally, service of process is done through personal service; this means, by delivering a copy of the lawsuit to the defendant’s residency or place of business. Given the increasing use of electronic communications nowadays and the proliferation of online businesses, could service of process be accomplished through e-mail? Various United States courts have already entertained this question, and some have denied the possibility that defendants be served through the use of e-mail, while others have allowed service by e-mail. This article provides examples of two district court decisions regarding service of process through e-mail.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure establish that individuals and corporations may be served “following state law for serving a summons . . . in the state where the district court is located." Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1), (h)(1)(A). Thus, state rules determine how plaintiffs serve on defendants. When personal service of process cannot be accomplished, plaintiffs usually resort to alternate means to serve defendants as allowed by state law. For instance, under Michigan law, when service of process cannot be made as provided by the civil procedure rules, “the court may allow service of process to be made in any other manner reasonably calculated to give defendant actual notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard.” M.C.R. 2.105(I). This Michigan rule is common to most U.S. states.
Read more here. To keep up to speed with process server news - follow us on twitter @processservers
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment