Process Server - A person who delivers legal documents to another involved in litigation.
What does this really mean? That anyone who claims to have knowledge of the C.R.C.P. can serve papers? Anyone who is over the age of eighteen and not a party to the action can serve papers? Maybe. But that is not our philosophy.
We believe that a process server should be more than just someone who meets a few requirements and can hand someone some papers then walk away. While on scene the process server should be your eyes and ears. They should be gathering information that will be useful to you and your client.
Let’s take Tom for example. He hired AJ Process Server to serve Hank a Notice and Summons for Small Claims Court to get back the $7,500 Hank owes for work he did not do. AJ served Hank and Tom got a judgment. But does Hank have anything for Tom to satisfy the judgment? A job well done? WE DON’T THINK SO!
Some of the information the process server should be gathering while on scene is; ownership of the address, types of vehicles in and around the address (with license plate number(s)), description of any recreational vehicles, information gathered from interviewing neighbors and overall characteristics of the neighborhood? What about current employment of the person? If appropriate, the process server could follow the person to determine current employer for possible wage garnishment.
A dilemma every process server encounters is accurately identifying the person they are attempting to serve. Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4(k) allows service by refusal if the process server, “…knows or has reason to identify the person who refuses to be served, identifies the documents being served and offers to deliver a copy of the documents to the person who refuses to be served.” How does a process server accurately identify a person they have never met? PHOTO IDENTIFICATION!
If the person we are attempting to serve denies they are not that person, we ask to see their driver’s license! We tell them that the attorney needs us to verify the identity of the person we spoke with or another process server will bother them again attempting service. They do not like to be bothered the first time so we remind them that the next visit may be even more inconvenient.
If the person refuses to comply with the request, we explain to them that we believe they are the person we are looking for and that the rules say we can serve them by process of refusal. We then serve them the papers based on C.R.C.P. 4(k). In addition to the information we have already collected while on scene, we also check the persons current address based on their SSN and obtain the person’s Colorado Motor Vehicle Record to verify the person’s physical characteristics. We take all the information compiled and complete an Affidavit of Service by Process of Refusal in Accordance with C.R.C.P. 4 (k).
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