al42473 said:
If a summons was issued to someone in my same household for me, am I still liable for showing up in court? Could the person who accepted the summons have decline to accept it?
My response:
You were "Substitute Served". As long as the person who accepted the Summons & Complaint was over the age of 18, and in apparent possession, custody and control of the residence, service is good and proper. The only difference is that under certain State laws, you get a few extra days to respond to those papers. You never mentioned your State name, so this is general law.
In the "olden" days, a process server had to physically touch the person being served with the papers. That led to foot and car chases all over the place !
Well, the laws have been changed. No more touching with the papers is needed. A process server could, theoretically, merely tell the person what the papers are, and then drop the papers at the "target's" feet, and walk away.
IAAL