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Property manager owes us money, need help with small claims court filing

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quincy

Senior Member
OK, now I'm back to question on post #70. If I ask his county sheriff's department, or hire a private process server, I still have the address I cannot be positive that he lives at. Is it like, I tried both options, if no result, I request for "motion for substituted service"? Which is to leave the notice on the door of his residence? What if that fails as well?
If you are unable to serve him any other way, you can file a motion for substituted service. You will need proof of your attempts to serve him.

You might want a private investigator to locate a valid address.
 


zoelee

Active Member
Here is a link with information on service:
https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1083873/Final-JBCC-Standardized-Process-Server-Curriculum-August-7-2015.pdf
You really need to determine a proper address for your defendant.
So county property tax website is not good enough, Sherlock Holmes will have to personally verify that he lives at that address?

This is getting comically complicated, and more expensive. It's almost penalizing victims and rewarding perpetrators, in a sense.
 

quincy

Senior Member
So county property tax website is not good enough, Sherlock Holmes will have to personally verify that he lives at that address?

This is getting comically complicated, and more expensive. It's almost penalizing victims and rewarding perpetrators, in a sense.
If you are seeking alternative service, you must be able to show the court that you tried, and failed, to serve the proper defendant. If you can do that, the court should approve alternative service.

If your defendant was sued previously, you can check the address that was used for him there. But, yes, if someone wants to evade service, it can be a challenge.
 

zoelee

Active Member
If you are seeking alternative service, you must be able to show the court that you tried, and failed, to serve the proper defendant. If you can do that, the court should approve alternative service.

If your defendant was sued previously, you can check the address that was used for him there. But, yes, if someone wants to evade service, it can be a challenge.
That's a great idea. Can I check that, or it'll have to be a lawyer or something? I remember he has a judgement of a few thousands bucks under his name.
 

quincy

Senior Member
That's a great idea. Can I check that, or it'll have to be a lawyer or something? I remember he has a judgement of a few thousands bucks under his name.
You can check that without the help of an attorney. You mentioned the previous lawsuit against the fellow in one of your earlier posts.
 

zoelee

Active Member
I found a few cases on the county court portal, and it is the same address I found on the property tax site. So I'm 80% confident that that is his address.

But how come the mail is marked as "No Authorized Recipient Available"? hum...
 

quincy

Senior Member
I found a few cases on the county court portal, and it is the same address I found on the property tax site. So I'm 80% confident that that is his address.

But how come the mail is marked as "No Authorized Recipient Available"? hum...
Under 18? Tenant? Vacant home?

I can only guess.
 

quincy

Senior Member
Could he send his family member or tenants out and told the mail guy that he's not living there?
I understand that your defendant is over 18. The person at the home might have been under 18.

Again, I don't know why the fellow has not been served yet (i.e., how he is evading service).
 

zoelee

Active Member
I understand that your defendant is over 18. The person at the home might have been under 18.

Again, I don't know why the fellow has not been served yet (i.e., how he is evading service).
I might not have made this clear: my application got rejected due to "unmatched addresses." So technically my case doesn't exist, yet. That's why he hasn't been served.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I might not have made this clear: my application got rejected due to "unmatched addresses." So technically my case doesn't exist, yet. That's why he hasn't been served.
What "application"? The court doesn't care about the address when you initially file.
 

zoelee

Active Member
in the field for "secondary address" of the defendant, I was supposed to put his name, then address. But I put his business name, then address. My guess is that was what considered "didn't match", since the first address has his name, not his bz name. Called the website and county, nobody could give a clear answer.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
in the field for "secondary address" of the defendant, I was supposed to put his name, then address. But I put his business name, then address. My guess is that was what considered "didn't match", since the first address has his name, not his bz name. Called the website and county, nobody could give a clear answer.
Oh - the e-filing system rejected it. That doesn't necessarily mean what you did wasn't valid - just that it wasn't acceptable for e-filing.
 

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