Electronic Service of Process

Well, the day is here; or, at least it's getting here.  Lexis/Nexis, the huge legal data base firm [and a charter member of the "Big Data" club], reports that some courts in several Commonwealth countries are allowing alternative service of legal papers via, well, er, Facebook, and other electronic means designed to achieve delivery -in fact- of legal papers.

In the UK, the High Court allowed an injunction to be served via Facebook on an anonymous [and abusive] commenter to Donal Blaney's conservative blog.  Imagine that...

In Australia, a foreclosure notice was ordered to be sent to the delinquent homeowners via Facebook.  Under Canada's rules of alternate service, notice of a claim was sent to the defendant both through his employer, and via Facebook. And in New Zealand, a the initial complaint in a business dispute was allowed to be served on the missing defendant through a company Facebook page.

No reported cases here in the US folks, but it won't be long.  These days, perhaps the most sure-fire way to get someone, at least a person that has a FB account, is by posting on their wall or sending a message.

Texas lawyer John G. Browning addresses the issue in an excellent article published in the Texas Bar Journal.  More on this to come, for sure...

www.waterfordlegal.com

info@waterfordlegal.com"item"'>

Well, the day is here; or, at least it's getting here.  Lexis/Nexis, the huge legal data base firm [and a charter member of the "Big Data" club], reports that some courts in several Commonwealth countries are allowing alternative service of legal papers via, well, er, Facebook, and other electronic means designed to achieve delivery -in fact- of legal papers.

In the UK, the High Court allowed an injunction to be served via Facebook on an anonymous [and abusive] commenter to Donal Blaney's conservative blog.  Imagine that...

In Australia, a foreclosure notice was ordered to be sent to the delinquent homeowners via Facebook.  Under Canada's rules of alternate service, notice of a claim was sent to the defendant both through his employer, and via Facebook. And in New Zealand, a the initial complaint in a business dispute was allowed to be served on the missing defendant through a company Facebook page.

No reported cases here in the US folks, but it won't be long.  These days, perhaps the most sure-fire way to get someone, at least a person that has a FB account, is by posting on their wall or sending a message.

Texas lawyer John G. Browning addresses the issue in an excellent article published in the Texas Bar Journal.  More on this to come, for sure...

www.waterfordlegal.com

info@waterfordlegal.com

Posted in: alternate service,Attorney John G. Browning,Donal Blaney,Facebook,lawyer,legal process,State Bar of Michigan