Sheriff left a notice on our door today. (Los Angeles)

[alex13579]

What is the name of your state? California

Sheriff left a notice on our door today when nobody was at home. The notice states, "The Sheriff's office has received a court process for the address. This letter is intended as a courtesy notification. Its purpose is to allow you to pick up the process at a date convenient to you. You must appear personally; a friend or relative cannot pick up the process for you. It will be necessary for an officer to personally contact you if you are unable to appear within 3 business days."

The note is for my father, but he is currently not in the U.S. He will be back by the end of this month. I have talked to him over the phone right after I found out about this notice. We are pretty sure that one of our uncle is trying to sue us again. (He has lost all previous cases because he was not able to provide actual evidence to convince the judge).

Can the Sheriff just leave you a notice and ask the person to pick up the court process? I remembered that the Sheriff actually has to attempt multiple times to serve the paper until they catch you in person.

What option do we have?

Can we ignore it until the Sheriff catches me and I can tell the Sheriff that this person is not in the U.S right now?

or should I go to the Sheriff department and tell them that my dad is not in the U.S right now?

Can the judge make any decision against my dad when my dad has never been served?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? California

Sheriff left a notice on our door today when nobody was at home. The notice states, "The Sheriff's office has received a court process for the address. This letter is intended as a courtesy notification. Its purpose is to allow you to pick up the process at a date convenient to you. You must appear personally; a friend or relative cannot pick up the process for you. It will be necessary for an officer to personally contact you if you are unable to appear within 3 business days."

The note is for my father, but he is currently not in the U.S. He will be back by the end of this month. I have talked to him over the phone right after I found out about this notice. We are pretty sure that one of our uncle is trying to sue us again. (He has lost all previous cases because he was not able to provide actual evidence to convince the judge).

Can the Sheriff just leave you a notice and ask the person to pick up the court process? I remembered that the Sheriff actually has to attempt multiple times to serve the paper until they catch you in person.

What option do we have?

Can we ignore it until the Sheriff catches me and I can tell the Sheriff that this person is not in the U.S right now?

or should I go to the Sheriff department and tell them that my dad is not in the U.S right now?

Can the judge make any decision against my dad when my dad has never been served?

You do not have to pick up court papers for someone else. And your father cannot pick up court papers if he is out of the country.

 

[alex13579]

You do not have to pick up court papers for someone else. And your father cannot pick up court papers if he is out of the country.

Thank you for your reply.

Do we just wait until he comes back to the U.S and pick up the paper? Do we need to notify the Sheriff department?

Can the judge make any decision against my dad when my dad has never been served?

 

[CdwJava]

While it is unlikely any decision can be made without proper service of your father, we have no way of knowing what he is to be served. Without knowing the nature of the court process and what he is to be served, no one can say with certainty what may happen if he does not respond. While MOST court actions might require valid service, there are a few circumstances under which service may be less a requirement and more a courtesy.

You can either wait until dad comes back and let him deal with it, or, you can ask dad if you can contact the Sheriff's Department for information. They may or may not be willing to provide the info to you ... keep in mind that under the right circumstances serving you might be considered the same as serving dad - especially since you are in communication with him.

 

[FlyingRon]

What will likely happen is that if they try three times and are not able to do personal service, the plaintiff will likely avail themselves of substituted service. You getting the papers yourself does NOT qualify as service. It isn't personal service for sure, and it's not BY ITSELF, substituted service (because that also requires the served person to be mailed the paper). Since substituted service or service by mail is likely to happen anyway, I'd suggest you get the papers and let your father know what is going on.

 

[Zigner]

Since substituted service or service by mail is likely to happen anyway, I'd suggest you get the papers and let your father know what is going on.

You must appear personally; a friend or relative cannot pick up the process for you.

Only the father will be able to pick up the papers. Of course, the OP could contact the agency and advise them that the father is out of the country, but is expected to return on xxx date.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to California’s service of court papers:
https://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-serving.htm?rdeLocaleAttr=en