Served papers?

Served papers?

"Treachery"	12/22/2004 7:54:10 PM
I am in California. I filed a Complaint for Grandparent Visitation and a court date has been sent. I sent served the papers to the defendant via Express Mail Overnight with Return Receipt. When i checked the status of the court papers, 2 attempts have been made and notices have been left at the front door but the papers have not been delivered. It's unknown whether or not the defendant is voiding being served. If the papers are returned to me undelivered, what next? Mediation is scheduled for the 1st week of January but the defenfant has not received the court summons as of yet. Will the case default in my favor? Thanks.



"McGyver"	12/23/2004 9:17:29 AM
"Treachery" <cpqtdm@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:1103774050.454281.289710@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com... I am in California. I filed a Complaint for Grandparent Visitation and a court date has been sent. I sent served the papers to the defendant via Express Mail Overnight with Return Receipt. When i checked the status of the court papers, 2 attempts have been made and notices have been left at the front door but the papers have not been delivered. It's unknown whether or not the defendant is voiding being served. If the papers are returned to me undelivered, what next? Mediation is scheduled for the 1st week of January but the defenfant has not received the court summons as of yet. Will the case default in my favor? Not unless the summons is properly served. "Express Mail Overnight with Return Receipt" is not service. It isn't even a valid attempt. Call a process server. The cost will be between $25 and $40 if the service is easy. If not it will cost more, but there will be no valid resolution of the matter, and probably not even a hearing, until a valid proof of service is filed with the court. Check out the number of days before the hearing that the service must be accomplished. You need to find out whether you will have to reschedule the hearing. McGyver



"Christopher Green"	12/23/2004 8:12:27 PM
If you are a party, you cannot serve the papers yourself by any means. You must get the Marshal (I think in most counties the Sheriff now does the Marshal's work) or a process server to do it for you. I believe personal service is normally required for a complaint; any kind of mail is no good. (Subsequent papers can be served by first-class mail, usually. But even then, you can't mail it yourself, the clerk has to mail it for you.) I don't know what the deadlines are in a case such as yours, but I hope you've left yourself enough time that you can still get the papers served properly without having to postpone. The reason you can't serve by yourself is apparent enough: if a party could serve papers on his own, a dishonest party could file the "return of service" claiming he has served papers when he has not. Not that you would do such a thing, but the people who would spoil it for everybody else. -- Not a lawyer, listen to McGyver, he's a California lawyer, Chris Green



"Captain Sensible"	12/24/2004 12:31:40 PM
I am in California. I filed a Complaint for Grandparent Visitation and a court date has been sent. I sent served the papers to the defendant via Express Mail Overnight with Return Receipt. When i checked the status of the court papers, 2 attempts have been made and notices have been left at the front door but the papers have not been delivered. It's unknown whether or not the defendant is voiding being served. If the papers are returned to me undelivered, what next? Mediation is scheduled for the 1st week of January but the defenfant has not received the court summons as of yet. Will the case default in my favor? Thanks. Why don't the child's parents want you to see them? I'm sensible



Jon Beaver	12/24/2004 4:54:09 PM
On 24 Dec 2004 12:31:40 -0800, "Captain Sensible" <soycapitansensible@yahoo.com> wrote: I am in California. I filed a Complaint for Grandparent Visitation and a court date has been sent. I sent served the papers to the defendant via Express Mail Overnight with Return Receipt. When i checked the status of the court papers, 2 attempts have been made and notices have been left at the front door but the papers have not been delivered. It's unknown whether or not the defendant is voiding being served. If the papers are returned to me undelivered, what next? Mediation is scheduled for the 1st week of January but the defenfant has not received the court summons as of yet. Will the case default in my favor? Thanks. Why don't the child's parents want you to see them? I'm sensible It is possible to serve papers by mail under certain circumstances where the party to be served has already appeared in the action. Ordinarily, however, papers which require an original response to a lawsuit requires personal service by one of the means set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 413.10 et seq. - Jon Beaver

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