According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, service is “the formal delivery of a writ, summons, or other legal process or notice”. Process servers deliver these documents, and more, to their intended recipients every day. Why is this important? Because in the United States, adequate notification of an upcoming requested court appearance is required by the Constitution’s verbiage on due process.
Process servers must follow all Texas laws while serving process, or court documents, to individuals and businesses in the state. While there is no exhaustive list of all the documents that a process server might serve, the most common ones we see here include below…
Civil Summons and Complaints
Civil litigation is by far the most common type of case we deal with here at Accurate Serve® of Dallas. For most civil cases, a minimum of a summons and a copy of the plaintiff’s complaint is delivered to the named defendant(s) in the case. Depending on the specifics of the case, other forms and documents may also be delivered.
Three-Day and Eviction Notices
According to Eviction Lab, eviction filings in Dallas were 202% higher than average in August 2022, and the month’s not even over yet. In all of those cases, multiple notices must be delivered to the tenants for the eviction to be valid. Process servers can help with all of those required notices, ensuring that invalid service never derails your ability to recoup your property and lost income.
The first step in evicting a tenant is to provide them with a notice of the requirement to vacate. This is often a 3-day notice, although the exact timeline depends on the reason for the eviction. Furthermore, certain properties are protected by the federal CARES Act and require a 30-day notice to vacate.
After serving the notice to vacate and waiting for the specified time, the landlord may file a lawsuit to evict the tenant. The tenant will then be served with a summons and copy of the landlord’s complaint, along with evidence submitted by the landlord to back up their claims. The tenant has a certain amount of time to submit an answer to this complaint and a potential counterclaim.
Once the eviction case is heard in court, a judge will issue their decision. If either party disagrees, they may appeal that decision. An appeal will require yet another summons and complaint to be served, requiring an answer from the opposing party. Once the appeal case is heard in court, the judge will issue a final decision on the eviction case.
If the tenant is evicted, the landlord must request a writ of possession to be issued by the judge. These writs are most often delivered by law enforcement since they require the removal of personal property upon execution.
Interpleader Notices
Interpleaders are another common court situation that requires a process server to deliver several documents. Interpleader cases occur when someone comes into possession of an asset that does not belong to them, and they choose to allow the court to decide to whom the asset belongs.
Criminal Witness Subpoenas
While law enforcement is typically charged with serving a criminal summons and arrest warrants due to the dangerous nature of that job, we do serve witness subpoenas for criminal cases. Subpoenas inform the recipient of a mandatory court appearance to deliver honest testimony about a specific topic or situation.
Subrogation Notices
Subrogation is a special area of law that we are seeing more frequently. Subrogation involves an insurance company recouping payments made to a policyholder by pursuing legal action against the individual or business responsible for the event that caused the insurance payout. Subrogation is a common way for insurance companies to go after responsible parties in vehicle accidents and homeowner’s claims.
HOA Notices
HOAs are another frequent source of litigation, often related to property disputes. HOAs typically have strict rules that residents of their designated areas must abide by or face legal consequences and fines. We deliver notices and orders from HOAs to their residents to ensure quick compliance with agreed upon rules.
Family Law Motions and Orders
Finally, we deliver motions and orders for various family law matters. Divorce and child custody are the most common types of cases we see in this area of law. For these cases, a certain level of tact and diplomacy is required to handle the situation without provoking an angry or violent response. Since tensions run high in these cases, we always use the highest level of caution while attempting to serve these documents.
Process Servers in Dallas
If you are involved in any type of legal case and need official court paperwork delivered, contact Accurate Serve® of Dallas at (469) 518-9581 or send us a work request online. We deliver all types of vital paperwork, along with retrieving vital documents and performing skip traces.
