Q: If I have a an HRO against me, is it a violation to have the other party served court paperwork by mail in Minnesota?
My ex husband has an HRO against me. He has been withholding my children and wrongfully denying me my parenting time for two and half months which is in violation of our court order. I submitted a motion for parenting time assistance to family court to ask them to enforce our current court order. I was told by the county clerk that I could serve him myself or do service by mail. Obviously because of the HRO I had him served by mail. He then reported me to the police for violating the HRO. Is having a protected party served with a motion for family court considered an HRO violation?
He and his wife have also lied and reported false information to law enforcement claiming that I called them and threatened to take the children which never happened.
A: Best practice for a person with a Harassment Restraining Order prohibiting contact with anothe rperson would be to avoid contact, whether direct or indirect. In practice, such a person may end up in the same courtroom during or waiting for a court hearing, for example. And that would not be contact that would violate to the court's "No Contact Order" in the HRO. Similarly, having the person served a copy of legal pleadings or documents to be filed with the court, would not be not be contact that would violate to the court's "No Contact Order" in the HRO. But, as you suggest, it would be best to avoid personally serving them the legal papers. Instead, having the Sheriff serve them, or a private process server, or service by mail if permissible, would be better because those would avoid any personal proximity. As for false claims, one can try to get evidence contradicting them, and can challenge them in court.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
