Unthought_Known
Member
In going through the Small Claims paperwork, here are a few questions I have:
1) I lived in the apartment with my wife. Are we both required to be listed as plaintiff's, or can I be the only person listed? She will have difficulty getting off of work in order to show up, and I'm the one who has done all of the legwork in looking up various laws, so I'd rather go it alone if I can. Since her name is on the lease though, I wasn't sure if she's required to be there for the court case.
2) I'll pay $10 to have the court send a certified letter to the defendant in order to serve him the documents. I've read that it's 50/50 whether this method is successful. For those who have experience with these cases, is that typically frowned upon (and used against them) by the judge if they try to avoid being served?
3) If he does not sign the certified mail card, then I'll need to serve him another way. The San Francisco paperwork is clear that I cannot serve him myself (it has to be someone not listed on the case, 18 years or older). Can I be there for the serving though? The documents aren't clear about this part. I assume I can be there as long as I'm not the one who hands him the letter.
4) If he goes out of his way to avoid me and I have to hire a process server, what's the success rate in recovering that cost when the trial is over? I guess this is related to question 2, where the judge might charge him the process server cost as a penalty for trying to avoid being served.
5) When the certified letter is sent and they leave a slip that says "you have a certified letter, come to the post office to pick it up" (or whatever the notecard says), does it say that it's from the courthouse? If so, why would anybody in their right mind go sign for it?
Ideally, I can serve on my own and he signs the certified letter - but I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row in case I run into any issues.
Thanks!
1) I lived in the apartment with my wife. Are we both required to be listed as plaintiff's, or can I be the only person listed? She will have difficulty getting off of work in order to show up, and I'm the one who has done all of the legwork in looking up various laws, so I'd rather go it alone if I can. Since her name is on the lease though, I wasn't sure if she's required to be there for the court case.
2) I'll pay $10 to have the court send a certified letter to the defendant in order to serve him the documents. I've read that it's 50/50 whether this method is successful. For those who have experience with these cases, is that typically frowned upon (and used against them) by the judge if they try to avoid being served?
3) If he does not sign the certified mail card, then I'll need to serve him another way. The San Francisco paperwork is clear that I cannot serve him myself (it has to be someone not listed on the case, 18 years or older). Can I be there for the serving though? The documents aren't clear about this part. I assume I can be there as long as I'm not the one who hands him the letter.
4) If he goes out of his way to avoid me and I have to hire a process server, what's the success rate in recovering that cost when the trial is over? I guess this is related to question 2, where the judge might charge him the process server cost as a penalty for trying to avoid being served.
5) When the certified letter is sent and they leave a slip that says "you have a certified letter, come to the post office to pick it up" (or whatever the notecard says), does it say that it's from the courthouse? If so, why would anybody in their right mind go sign for it?
Ideally, I can serve on my own and he signs the certified letter - but I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row in case I run into any issues.
Thanks!
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