Utah Process Server Discusses Effects of Recession

The economic recession could be driving up court filings and increasing mortgage foreclosures in Park City.

Foreclosures statewide last summer and fall increased 111 percent, according to state court statistics. The largest increases in foreclosures occurred in American Fork, Provo, West Jordan, St. George, Heber and Park City.

"If you go back over the last 15-20 years, whenever there's a downturn you generally see an increase in civil filings" said Daniel Becker, a state courts administrator.

There were 17 filings related to property liens and foreclosures in 3rd District Court at Silver Summit in 2007. In December, 40 related court filings had already occurred in Summit County in 2008, according to the statistics.

Meanwhile, businesses in Park City are also facing belt-tightening.

"We're up there every couple of weeks," process server Bob Reitz said. "We did a very high-end execution up in Park City not long ago, when one of the clothing stores had some problems."

Find out more at The Park Record.

Forder Deputy Gets Deferred Sentence in Threatening Process Server

A former Flathead County sheriff's deputy charged with threatening a process server with a shotgun has signed a deferred prosecution agreement.

A charge of assault with a weapon filed against Patrick B. Ward will be dismissed if he remains law abiding for six months. Prosecutors say Ward threatened to shoot a civil process server who was delivering divorce papers to his house on May 7.

Read the rest at ABCMontana.com.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department Stops Serving Certain Papers

Effective January 2, 2009, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department will discontinue service of all non-enforcement types of civil processes.

Non-enforcement civil process can be served by anyone over the age of 18 who is not a party to the action or by a registered process server. You may locate a San Diego County registered process server by searching for "attorney support services" or "process serving" in a telephone directory or search engine.

Find out more details at the San Diego's Sheriff's Department.

Process Server on Chief Justice: "Definitely a Gentleman"

There was no clandestine surveillance, no hiding behind bushes or in a parked car.

Daniel Portnoy says he walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. The homeowner opened the door.

Portnoy and the man chatted for a minute and parted ways. Mission accomplished. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. accepted service of a U.S. District Court summons at home, Portnoy says.

“Obviously this guy was outstanding. He could have quoted legal scripture to me for a week and a half,” Portnoy recalls of his trip to the Roberts home in Chevy Chase, Md., the night of Jan. 4 about 8 p.m. “He was very respectful in a situation where he didn’t have to be.”

Read the rest of the story here.

Ed McMahon's Dog Attacks Process Server

OK, "attack" might be too strong of a word. But McMahon's poodle did bite a process server who was serving papers to the McMahons.

Check it out at TMZ.

Australia Says Some Documents Can Be Served via Facebook

The big question about Facebook is does it have any valuable commercial application? Well it seems that the courts have found one.

Today in what appears to be a first in Australia and perhaps the world, Master Harper of the ACT Supreme Court ordered that a default judgement could be served on defendants by notification on Facebook.

Arizona Photo Enforcement Ticket Not Valid Until Served

People ask us all the time: What can I do about that nasty photo radar ticket I got in the mail?

The answer: Nothing.

Literally. Chuck it in the trash.

It's perfectly ethical -- just look at the ticket's fine print. You see, for photo enforcement citations to be valid, the state Supreme Court rules say it has to be properly served to you. And the U.S. Mail won't cut it. So, the ticket asks you to sign a waiver of your right to proper service and mail it back to the authorities.

Grand Jury Indicts Man Shot Twice By Process Server

A Putnam County grand jury has indicted a man who was shot twice last year in his Putnam Valley driveway by a process server.

The grand jury, however, did not indict the process server, a former Kent town police officer and ex-Kent councilman.

The grand jury returned a four-count indictment against shooting victim Douglas Greenwich, 53, but did not indict Dennis Illuminate, 67.

Ex-Helmshore Councillor Fined for Attacking Process Server

A former councillor being served with an injunction banning him from town hall meetings swatted a legal representative with the court papers, magistrates heard.

Process server Steven Baldwin, of Burnley, had been hired by Rossendale Council last May to serve a court order prohibiting Noel O’Brien from attending council meetings or going into council offices.

But while Mr Baldwin tried to serve the injunction on 57-year-old O’Brien, at his home in Mercer Crescent, Helmshore, he tried to slam the door in his face, Preston Magistrates Court heard.

Woman Being Served Chases Down Family, Process Server in Hummer

A Mequon woman is facing three counts of first-degree reckless endangerment after she chased her estranged husband and their 9-year-old daughter around his Mequon house in a Hummer because he wanted to evict her from her home, a criminal complaint filed in Ozaukee County Circuit Court says.Lawrence Hayes, 29, of Jackson was arraigned Thursday on charges of domestic violence and possession with intent to deliver cocaine.

Judge Bans Process Server Stokes and Levin

A process server accused of falsifying documents has been shut down for all practical purposes.

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office announced that it had convinced Suffolk Superior Court Judge Bruce R. Henry to prohibit Stokes & Levin from acting as a process server, advertising legal process services, accepting money for serving legal papers, and forming another legal process business or operating under a different name.

Peekaboo Plaintiff Hard on Process Servers

A defendant in a local covenant lawsuit is playing hard to get.

David Dias, property owner at 3350 Tea Rose Drive, is in court over an unapproved retaining wall and commercial-vehicle parking.

Or rather, he isn’t.

Dias was a no-show at an Oct. 16 court hearing.

“We’ve had trouble serving him,” said Wayne Lowery, district general manager. “He’s not answering his door.”

Dias’ case-management hearing Oct. 16 was continued until Dec. 17.

“The court continued it 60 days to give us time to serve him, and for him to respond to the service,” Lowery said.

In January 2007, the district first notified Dias of the covenant violations.

“You are hereby required to stop work immediately,” the CSD letter said of the retaining wall project. “You are also required to submit a Property Improvement Application to the Design Review Committee.”

Process Server Helps Plan 50th High School Reunion

Fiftieth high school reunions used to be few and far between.

That's not exactly the case in the Inland Valley as more and more local high schools are rounding up old classmates and celebrating their memories. Still, the recent reunion of the Upland High School Class of 1958 was pretty special.

For the once-young students in that 250-member class, it was more than just remembering graduation. That class was the very first one at the Foothill Boulevard school and because of that, those students were in on the ground floor of creating a proud legacy - everything from selecting the school's colors (green and white) to picking its mascot (Highlanders) to deciding on a poignant alma mater.

Jeanette Amberson, a member of the class, wrote the school song at home seated in front of her piano because, she said, somebody had to.

So when the reunion committee started taking the bull by the horns in May, it wasn't surprising that the Class of 1958 rose to the challenge, again.

Verdict Reached But Not Released in Court Case Involving State's Attorney, Process Server, and Gun

A Grand Jury in Union County reached a verdict today regarding the allegations made against State's Attorney Allen James, but the prosecutor is not releasing that decision.

The jurors were considering whether or not to indict James on charges of unlawful use of a weapon and official misconduct.

Union County State's Attorney Allen James is accused of unlawfully pulling a gun on a man trying to serve him a summons.

A verdict has been reached in this case, but the acting prosecutor-- Wayne County State's Attorney Kevin Kakac-- is keeping that decision sealed.

Allegations against Allen James stem from an incident that happened last March in the parking lot outside the Union County courthouse.

Union County State's Attorney Passes Polygraph Over Process Server

Union County State's Attorney Allen W. James said the truth is in the test, and that he passed it twice.

James said he recently took two voluntary polygraph tests in an effort to prove his innocence against allegations that he knowingly pointed a .380 semi-automatic handgun at a man attempting to serve him with a federal subpoena earlier this year.

Christopher Dees, an investigator working for a private company, contends he was attempting to serve James with a subpoena regarding a lawsuit filed by a former state's attorney's office employee the morning of March 19. As Dees approached James, in the parking lot of the Union County Courthouse, James allegedly pulled the gun and pointed it at him, Dees contends.

Dees filed his complaint with the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) on Sept. 9.

James said he doesn't deny carrying the concealed weapon or pointing it at the private investigator, however, he denies having prior knowledge of who Dees was or why he was approaching.

The polygraph test was conducted by Dennis Smith of Herrin, who recently retired from the Illinois State Police.

"He is the person we would send people to and we trusted him," James said. "So, if we trusted him from the prosecutor's standpoint then I might as well trust him from the other side, as well."

Woman Pulls Gun on Process Server

A 48-year-old Lyon Township woman was arrested on Oct. 4 after she pointed a gun at a process server who came to her home to deliver court papers.

According to the report from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office Lyon Substation, the 33-year-old Warren man approached the home in the Country Estate Mobile Home Park and the woman came to the door with a gun.

The man said he was about four-to-five feet away from the woman and put his hands in the air while she held him at gun point. He told her he was a process server and she motioned him to put the papers on the deck. He then asked her to sign then, which she refused to do.

Bollywood Star Fined for "Dogged" Defiance

Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, fined filmstar Swastika Mukherjee Rs 8,500 for unleashing her pet dog on a high court employee when he went to her house to serve a summons.

Not only that, Justice Maharaj Sinha rejected her application seeking to take defence in a damage suit pending before the court against her. The court observed that the application was not made truthfully. Mukherjee was directed to pay the fine by November 11.

Swastika was married in 1998 to Pramit Sen, younger son of Rabindrasangeet exponent, the late Sagar Sen. Anwesa, the couple's daughter, was born in 2000. In June that year, Swastika left her in-laws' house and lodged a complaint against her husband and his elder brothers - Pritam and Priyam - with Jadavpur police under Section 498A IPC.

The Sen brothers were discharged of allegations of physical and mental torture against Swastika by an Alipore court in 2005.

Congressional Candidate Moonlighting as Process Server

Republican Congressional candidate Peter James said yesterday that he would spend the day as a process server, handing out legal filings to the White House, the Department of Treasury and congressional offices.

James, an avowed libertarian challenging Democrat Donna F. Edwards in Maryland's 4th Congressional District, agreed to help a group called We the People serve papers in a lawsuit challenging the not-yet-passed $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan as unconstitutional.

James has been warning for months about the possibility that massive debt could bring down the American financial system, as he and Edwards ran against one another in a June special election to replace longtime incumbent Rep. Albert R. Wynn. Edwards won that contest for the Prince George's and Montgomery district, with more than 80 percent of the vote.

James believes the financial market crisis proves his point.

Bankruptcy Judges to Rewrite Mortgages?

Some Democrats in Congress are pushing to allow bankruptcy judges to rewrite mortgages as part of the proposed $700 billion bailout for financial institutions that are straining under the weight of failing home loans.

The goal is to allow homeowners facing foreclosure to seek a reduction in their mortgage debt when they file for bankruptcy. Some analysts say it makes no sense to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to buy toxic mortgages without also extending aid to households at risk of losing their homes.

“Right now the pain is with people who are having difficulty making their mortgage payments, and that is a leading reason why people would go down the bankruptcy route,” said Paul Leonard, director of the California office of the Center for Responsible Lending.

Groups that counsel people facing foreclosure long have complained that banks and loan servicers are slow to respond to requests for loan modifications. Consumer advocates hope that if bankruptcy judges are given the ability to compel lenders to reduce debt, consumers will have more negotiating clout.

Former Kenyan Official Finally Served Papers

Former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo has been served with court papers over the multi-billion shilling Anglo Leasing scandal.

Process servers George Kibe and Michael Kioko served Githongo with the papers during tea break at a conference he was chairing organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs at Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

Mr Githongo is now obligated to make an appearance within 15 days in court for the case filed by former Internal Security Minister Chris Murungaru over defamation.

Mr Kibe told The Standard that Githongo politely acknowledged and signed the copies.

Last week, Murungaru filed an application at the Nairobi Law Courts to be allowed to serve Githongo through Times of London, The Guardian, The Standard and Daily Nation newspapers.

He claimed attempts had been made to serve Githongo at PCS Plaza, Strathmore University and Karen during his visit last month but all were in vain.

Process Servers Serving Severance

Human resources adviser Bob Benwick recalls watching in amazement as a supervisor of a Vancouver hospital's cleaning staff ran screaming from the room after being told by a manager that her job was being outsourced.

Instead of taking the severance notice the manager tried to hand to her, the woman ran down the hall yelling: "If I don't see it, you can't fire me."

A few days later, unbeknownst to Mr. Benwick, the hospital manager decided to have a process server deliver the notice. When he caught up to the woman's car at a stoplight and handed her the paper, she drove over his foot.

"That was a really wild, but totally inappropriate, way to tell someone they no longer had a job," recalls Mr. Benwick, chairman of Vancouver executive coaching company R.W. Benwick Associates Ltd.

It's the sort of disaster that can happen if managers aren't sensitive to the emotional impact of delivering the "you're fired" news, Mr. Benwick says.

No Investigation of Sarto, Despite Lawyer's Request

The attorney representing Carpentersville Village Trustee Paul Humpfer in his ongoing criminal matter recently asked police to conduct an investigation into Village President Bill Sarto's alleged refusal to accept a subpoena to testify at a hearing in the case.

But Carpentersville Police Cmdr. Mike Kilbourne said Friday "there is no active investigation" into whether Sarto committed a criminal misdemeanor on Aug. 19 by reportedly refusing to accept the subpoena from a process server.

Humpfer's attorney, Patrick Crimmins of Brady & Jensen in Elgin, subpoenaed Sarto to testify at a hearing on Humpfer's motion for a new judge in his case. Humpfer claims that Judge James Hallock, who convicted the trustee of domestic battery in a bench trial in March, failed to disclose relationships he has or had with current and former Carpentersville officials.

From Parole to Process Server

Andre Garrett parks his white Volvo sedan at a meter outside the Nassco shipyard on Harbor Boulevard on a hot, late summer morning. He shuffles through some papers in his black canvas briefcase and plucks out a stack, reading aloud the name written at the top. He repeats the name again and again, as if committing it to memory, as if it might disappear by the next time he looks down.

The name on the paper belongs to someone Garrett needs to find. The shipyard was the only address his client had for the man. This is the most daunting place Garrett's ever come to do his work, he says.

"I have no idea how to get in, where to go," he mutters to himself, sizing up the colossal fortress of shipbuilding and machinery.

He tries to enter the yard at one gate and is turned away. The same thing happens a little further up the street. Finally he finds the door for an office and walks in.

He proclaims the name of the man on his mind to a receptionist and some empty chairs.

"I'm here to serve him," he says, holding up a stack of legal documents signed by a woman who no longer wants to be the man's wife.ng her entry on board the ship. That was all,” said Botha.

Suspect Charged in Process Server Murder

A judge on Friday declined the request of the attorney for a Loveland man accused of first-degree murder to reduce the charges against him.

James Whitler, 45, has been charged in the beating death of Stephen Allen, a 57-year-old process server, the evening of May 28 at Whitler’s residence west of Loveland. Whitler is also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder for allegedly choking his children, 12-year-old Amanda and 10-year-old Jacob, when sheriff’s deputies apprehended him at his home.

Friday, 8th Judicial District Judge Daniel Kaup decided enough evidence existed to carry all charges against Whitler to a possible trial after listening to testimony from one of the investigators in the case.

Attorneys for both sides agreed Whitler hit Allen multiple times with a T-ball bat and choked the children, but prosecutors and defense attorneys differed on what Whitler’s mind-set was during the attacks.

Allen was serving Whitler with divorce papers and a restraining order taken out by Whitler’s estranged wife, Lisa Whitler, when he was attacked by Whitler — who hit Allen between 15 and 20 times, Larimer County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Feyen testified.

Carpentersville Village President May Face Contempt Citation

Carpentersville Village President Bill Sarto may face a contempt citation for failing to appear in court to testify Friday in a domestic violence case against a rival village trustee, a prosecutor said.

Sarto was called to testify in the case of trustee Paul Humpfer, who was found guilty of domestic battery this year.

Sarto could be held in contempt, said Kane County Assistant State's Atty. Elizabeth Miles.

A private investigator said Sarto refused to accept a subpoena when he approached Sarto in the Village Hall parking lot this month, according to a court document.

The investigator, Eric Moskal, said he saw a man arrive in a car, which had a license plate that read, "SARTO," the document said.