What Is the Penalty for Avoiding Service of Process?

For most people, it’s almost natural to feel a mix of fear, confusion, or even denial when faced with a legal matter. In fact, the thought of being served legal documents only adds to the stress. When served legal papers, some people may consider avoiding the service of process while others may avoid it unintentionally.

Whatever the case, the penalties for avoiding service of process can be severe, ranging from default judgment and increased legal costs, to contempt of court charges and even arrest warrant. That’s why we’ve put together this guide so you can understand these potential consequences and learn how to handle being served legal papers to protect your rights and avoid unnecessary legal issues.

With years of expertise in successfully serving court documents, On-Call Legal Process Servers can guarantee that your legal documents are delivered correctly, promptly, and handled with care. In case your intended recipient is proving difficult to find, our licensed investigative services can help you locate them using advanced techniques. Don’t hesitate to schedule a free consultation with us; let’s discuss your service of process needs and serve your papers swiftly.

This guide will explain the possible reasons people avoid process service, the potential consequences of avoiding service of process, and the steps you can take to address or prevent these issues responsibly.

Why Some People Avoid Service of Process

Generally, people avoid process service for various reasons, mostly due to their fear or misunderstandings about what being served legal documents means. Some of the most common reasons include:

1. Fear of legal consequences – In some cases, the recipient may be worried about losing a lawsuit, having to pay fines or damages, or facing criminal charges.
2. They are not ready to face their responsibilities. For example, someone being sued for unpaid debts might not want to face the reality of their financial problems.
3. Some people see it as a way to get more time to prepare their defense, gather resources, or attempt to negotiate a settlement outside of court.
4. Some individuals misunderstand the purpose of the serving process. They might think that by avoiding it, the legal case will go away.
5. A lack of trust in the legal system can also motivate people to avoid service. They may feel the system is biased, unfair, or not in their favor.
6. For some, they want to avoid embarrassment, especially if it happens in public or at their workplace, potentially leading to avoiding legal papers if they’re delivered to such places.
7. People also avoid service unintentionally. Sometimes, they don’t even know what it means to be served. This lack of awareness can make it appear as though they are avoiding service when they are not.

What are the Penalties for Avoiding Service of Process?

Although avoiding service of process may seem like a way to delay or escape legal proceedings, most times it leads to more serious consequences. What happens if you don’t answer the door to a process server can vary depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the case.

1. The Court May Pass a Default Judgment

If you avoid being served and fail to respond to a lawsuit, the court may continue the proceeding without your participation. This is known as a “default judgment.” In such cases, the court assumes that you’re guilty of the claims made against you since you did not appear to contest them. A default judgment is legally binding and is usually very difficult to reverse. For example, in a civil lawsuit, the court may order you to pay damages, fines, or meet other demands outlined in the case.

2. You May Have to Pay Legal Penalties

The court may consider avoiding process service as obstructing court proceedings, which can lead to penalties. Some jurisdictions see intentional avoidance as a violation of the law, and you could be fined or face other legal consequences. Moreover, repeatedly or deliberately avoiding service may make the court to take additional legal actions to enforce compliance.

3. The Court May Approve Alternative Methods of Service

When traditional methods of serving you (such as personal service or substitute service) fail because you are avoiding them, the court may permit service using alternative methods. They may approve sending the documents through certified mail, publishing a notice in a local newspaper, or delivering the papers to a responsible adult at your residence.

In some cases, courts may allow the process server to post the documents at your home or a public location. In most cases, the court considers the service as valid once the server uses these alternative methods, even if you did not personally get the court papers. The implication is that the legal process can continue as if you were properly notified.

4. The Court May Issue a Warrant for Arrest

If your case involves criminal charges or certain civil matters such as contempt of court, avoiding or evading service will likely cause the court to issue a warrant for your arrest. When that happens, it might significantly escalate the situation and make it much harder to resolve the case on favorable terms. Let’s say you’re summoned to appear in court for a deposition or hearing and you didn’t appear because you avoided being served. The court may authorize law enforcement to detain you.

Can you go to jail for avoiding service? Well, it’s possible but quite rare. In most civil cases, courts prefer to resolve matters through legal methods such as default judgments or alternative service methods rather than resorting to criminal penalties. Jail is usually reserved for cases where avoiding service obstructs the judicial due process or violates a direct court order.

5. You May Incur Increased Costs

When you avoid service, the opposing party may pay extra costs trying to locate and serve you. Such additional fees may include hiring a private investigative services or paying for alternative service methods. When that happens, courts will most likely allow the opposing party to recover these additional expenses from you. In other words, they might require that you pay back the extra costs caused by your avoidance, which becomes for you a financial burden on top of any legal consequences.

6. It May Harm Your Legal Standing

Courts generally see avoiding service as a sign of bad faith, which can harm your legal standing. Judges may be less inclined to grant you favorable rulings or extensions if they believe you were deliberately trying to obstruct proper legal procedures. For example, if you later request additional time to respond to the case or file an appeal, the court may deny your request due to your earlier behavior. Additionally, your avoidance can negatively affect the court’s perception of your credibility, which means you may get less favorable rulings in future cases.

What Happens if You “Accidentally” Miss Being Served?

Note that if you accidentally miss being served, the consequences and how the court views your actions will be significantly different from when you intentionally evade service.

Accidental Missed Service vs Intentionally Evading Service

Accidental missed service happens when you unintentionally fail to receive the legal documents from the process server due to circumstances beyond your control. Example scenarios include moving to a new address without updating your contact information, being unavailable when the process server attempts delivery (e.g., at work or traveling), not realizing the importance of a notice left at your residence or with someone else, or a process server delivering to the wrong location or person.

For accidental missed services, the court may authorize alternative methods to serve you. They may choose to send the documents via certified mail, publish a notice in a newspaper, or leave the papers with someone at your residence or workplace. Even if you missed the initial attempts to serve you, these alternative methods will still count as valid service, and the case will proceed.

Intentional avoidance, on the other hand, happens when you take deliberate actions to prevent being served. Example scenarios include refusing to answer the door after identifying the process server, providing false information about your identity or location, or actively hiding or relocating to escape service. The legal system sees intentional avoidance as an irresponsible action and it can lead to legal penalties, such as being held in contempt or facing alternative methods of service that bypass your efforts.

What to Do If You Miss Service Accidentally

As soon as you find out that you might have accidentally missed service, you need to act immediately to see if you can still preserve your legal standing. By acting promptly and responsibly, you can minimize the impact of accidentally missing service and protect your legal rights. Take the following steps:

• Check for alternative notices such as certified mail, court notices, or public postings that might indicate an attempt to serve you.
• Contact the court in the jurisdiction where the lawsuit was filed if you suspect you missed being served but are unsure of the case details. The court can help you confirm whether a case has been filed against you, the current status of service attempts, and the deadlines for responding to the lawsuit.
• Respond as soon as possible. Once you become aware of the missed service, take immediate action to avoid further delays. You can file a motion with the court to explain the situation and request additional time to respond.
• Seek legal counsel. An attorney can help you respond appropriately, explain the missed service to the court, and avoid further complications. It’s better to pay an attorney’s fees and avoid severe consequences.

How to Prevent Accidentally Missing Service of Process

Whether accidentally or intentionally, missing process service can open the door for unexpected legal problems. That’s why it’s good you learn the various steps you can take to minimize the chances of accidentally missing legal notices. Here, we’ve provided some pro tips to guide you.

1. Keep your address up to date by filing a change of address form if you change location.
2. Provide alternative contact information as a backup in addition to your primary address. You can provide a trusted family member’s address or your email or phone number, if allowed.
3. Check your mail regularly so you can catch the notices if they’re sent via mail.
4. If you are involved in an ongoing court case, maintain open communication with the parties involved, including attorneys, opposing parties, and the court.
5. Make yourself available during normal business hours.
6. Inform trusted individuals to accept service on your behalf if you are unavailable. You can authorize family members, roommates, or receptionists, to accept documents.
7. If you own or manage a business, use a registered agent for legal matters. This is especially useful if you frequently travel or have multiple business locations.
8. Cooperate with process servers if they contact you or if you receive a notice about an attempted delivery. Ignoring their attempts can lead to alternative service methods, such as publishing a notice in a newspaper, which you might miss entirely.

How to Serve an Individual Trying to Avoid Service

If you’re the serving party, and you notice that the person you’re serving is trying to avoid service of process, the best thing to do is to hire a professional process server. When standard methods like personal delivery or mailing fail, professional process servers can use more advanced strategies to locate and serve individuals. These strategies can include skip tracing, private investigative techniques, and court-authorized alternatives like substituted service or publication.

By experience, professional process servers understand different kinds of people and the most likely way to locate and serve them, depending on the avoidance tactics they observe. They also understand the applicable rules of service of process in the jurisdiction involved. That way, they often make sure they follow due process to be sure that the service is valid.

What to Do if You’re Served Legal Documents

Instead of avoiding service, it’s better to handle it promptly and responsibly to protect your rights and increase your chances of getting a favorable outcome. Let’s go over some better ways to handle process service instead of avoiding it.

First, remain calm and professional when a process server comes to deliver legal documents to you. Avoid arguing with the server or refusing the papers. Note that process servers are not allowed to use physical force or trespass on your private property if you refuse them. Nonetheless, don’t try to intimidate or harass them.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to accept service. Once you receive them, review the documents carefully. Pay attention to details such as the type of case, what’s required of you, and the court deadlines. But before you take any steps, it’s best to consult with an attorney. They can help you understand the content of the documents and prescribe the best way to respond.

In some cases, legal documents may be fraudulent or improperly served. That’s another valid reason you should get an attorney, so they can help you verify if the documents are genuine, and if the process server followed proper service of process under your jurisdiction’s laws.

Pay attention to the deadlines because missing deadlines can also make the court assume you’re intentionally defaulting on court orders or requests. Mark important dates on your calendar and act promptly to avoid unnecessary penalties.

More importantly, if the documents include a summons to appear in court or attend a meeting (such as a deposition), make sure you appear in court and show up on time. Failure to appear can result in serious legal repercussions.

Need a Professional Legal Process Server?

Avoiding service of process might seem like a way to sidestep legal trouble, but in reality, it is rarely advantageous and only creates more problems. From default judgments to reputational damage, the penalties are not worth the risk. It is better to act promptly when served and understand the legal process to avoid unnecessary stress and protect your legal standing. Better still, don’t hesitate to consult an attorney when you receive legal documents to help you figure out the best line of action to take.

If you’re struggling to find someone to serve legal papers, On-Call Legal Process Servers can help you. As the best process server in California, we have all it takes to locate your recipient and deliver your legal documents while adhering to the rules of proper service of process. Schedule a free consultation with us today to discuss your needs.