Q: Wrongly served court papers
Someone tried to serve me court papers but sent them to a friend of mines apartment. She recorded the man serving the papers. When she told him I did not live there and she did not except he threw the paperwork down on the ground in front of her and left. Technically I not been served yet....what can I do to get the case thrown out or what are my in options?
A:
This really depends on the type of case. The reality is that if this is a family case, you will be found and service done properly. Moreover, serving documents incorrectly does not get a case thrown out.
The risk you run at doing nothing at this time is that you could have orders entered against you by default because the court believes you have been served properly. It will take a great deal of time and effort to undo the orders--and you would need to do so because if you do not challenge an order entered incorrectly it is still enforceable against you--and you would likely be in a worse position at the end of that long process.
The only risk that you have at finding the case and challenging service at this point is that you get served correctly. But in that case you would at least be able to defend yourself against whatever the other side is trying to do.
To avoid immediate service, you can request most documents filed with the court without filing anything with the Court to see what is there before you are served.
Whichever route you go, hiring an attorney and getting tailored advice will help you see clearly what course to take in order to defend yourself against whatever you are accused of.
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