Q: Can a debt summons be served on me and handed to a family member at old address. I have not used in a decade.
Current address I have on Id is not that address and has not been in years. Address on debt is not that address either. State is maryland
A: It is not proper service unless you live there. However, the court does not know you do not live there, so in order to contest service, you will have to file a motion to strike the service as invalid, sign an affidavit that you do not live at the address where the summons was served, and claim you were not served. But you are required to provide your current address on your motion. The case is not going away, and you will get served eventually, so you need to decide whether to simply file a notice of intention to defend or fight a battle over proper service that will only delay the inevitable. If a default is entered due to failure to file an answer to the complaint, then you would need to file a motion to vacate the judgment based on lack of proper service; however, one component of a motion to vacate is that, upon learning of the basis for your motion, you acted diligently to address the issue. That would require you to act sooner rather than later or risk your motion to vacate being denied. If you are aware of the invalid service and the pending case, and do nothing, you risk both a judgment and a potential denial of a motion to vacate that judgment. The simplest and surest means to address the issue is to file a notice of intention to defend and deal with the case.
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