WHAT DO PROCESS SERVERS IN DELAWARE DO?

This article will provide guidance on What Do Process Servers in Delaware Do? All time-sensitive legal papers, such as lawsuits or subpoenas, will be served according to Delaware’s laws of service of process, which carry a deadline for a response. ‘Service of process’ refers to the legal procedure through which a plaintiff in a lawsuit notifies the defendant about the action. The party being served with the process has a certain amount of time to respond. It should be noted that in the Justice of the Peace Courts, a special process server’s designation is valid for one year from the date of designation unless the Chief Magistrate or designee revokes the designation before that time. The designation of special process servers must be renewed annually (or refiling an application). 

Summonses, complaints, divorce papers, family court documents, subpoenas, citations, small claims court cases, orders to show cause, petitions, discovery documents, evictions, landlord/tenant notifications, motions, and any other legal documents are easily served by our Undisputed Legal process servers in Delaware. We are a comprehensive process-serving agency in the state of Delaware, and our clients include government entities on all levels, private legal practitioners, and the general public. We aim to provide you with only the best and ensure that your documents are delivered with care. 

BACKGROUND

Personal service of papers filed with a Justice of the Peace Court must be handled with the utmost professionalism in line with all relevant laws, rules of procedure, and Justice of the Peace Court policies and procedures governing personal service. By ensuring that all parties are properly served with legal documents, our Undisputed Legal process servers in Delaware help to facilitate court proceedings. This can include ensuring that witnesses appear in court, that defendants are aware of court dates and deadlines, and that court orders are properly delivered.

The papers personally ‘served’ by a special process server must be returned to the Justice of the Peace Court specified on the documents no later than three (3) days after service, except for forthwith summonses, which must be submitted immediately to the court. The Justice of the Peace Court indicated on the document must receive processed papers with no scheduled hearing or trial date information no later than thirty (30) days from the day the document was picked up from the court, whether served or non-est, by the special process server. 

However, it should be noted that special process servers in Delware must return documents with a hearing date, whether served or not, no later than four (4) business days before the hearing date. A special process server’s signature, the date and hour of service, and, if necessary, the signature of the person receiving service must all be sent to the court clearly and legibly.

REQUIREMENTS OF PRocess SERVers IN DELAWARE

The Clerk of the Court must promptly issue the process indicated in the praecipe and shall deliver it for service to the sheriff of the county or counties named in the praecipe or to a person specifically nominated by the Court to effect service. For the Clerk of Court to sign under the Court’s seal, the party seeking the issue of process must provide a form of such process. If the plaintiff requests more or a different processes in the praecipe, it will be issued to the appropriate defendants.

The process must be dated, signed by the Clerk or one of the Clerk’s Deputies, issued under the seal of the Court, contain the name of the Court and the names of the parties, state the name of the official or other person to whom it is directed, the plaintiff’s address. The time within which the defendant is required to appear and defend.  The deadline for returning the original process, whether an original, alias, or pluries writ, is twenty days following the day the writ was issued, when the Court may determine that the writ be returnable in a shorter period. 

At Undisputed Legal, we ensure that our servers are up to date with the licensing, regulations, and laws necessary in Delaware. Our local process servers in Delaware ensure that any service made is wholly accurate and legally sound. 

TIME FRAME FOR PROCESS SERVICE

Suppose the complaint is filed and the defendant is not served with the summons and complaint within a hundred and twenty days of filing the complaint. In that case, the action will be dismissed as to that defendant without prejudice upon the court’s initiative with notice to such party or upon motion. Within a reasonable time following service, but no later than the return day, the process server must file a return with the court. If service of process cannot be made before the return day, the document must be returned on that day with an explanation of why it was unsuccessful. Service should be valid regardless of whether or not a return or evidence of service is made.

We employ process servers in Delaware, allowing us to provide our clients with professional process servers. We provide three levels of service, being [A.] Routine service, with the first attempt in five to seven business days, [B.] Rush service, where process service is attempted first in forty-eight hours and [C.] Mail service, where documents are sent out within twenty-four hours. 

The only difference in the above levels of service (Routine & Rush) is the start times. All forms of service include the Undisputed Legal process server making up to three (3) attempts in the morning, afternoon, and evening. 

OTHER REQUIREMENTS OF Process SERVICE IN DELAWARE

In all cases where service is necessary or authorized to be made upon a party that counsel represents, service should be performed upon the counsel. A copy of the document must be personally delivered to the attorney or party, sent to the attorney’s or party’s last known address, or left with the Clerk of the Court if no address is known. A copy may be delivered by handing it to the attorney or the party, or by leaving it at the office of the attorney or the party with a clerk or other person in charge, or, if no such person is in charge, by leaving it in a conspicuous place. If the office is closed or the person served has no office, service is done by leaving it at the person’s dwelling house or usual place of abode with someone of suitable age. Each party must be served with a copy of the order in the form and manner prescribed by the Court. 

At Undisputed Legal, we ensure that the clients are a major part of the process serving procedure. 

GPS affidavits of service are provided to our clients, and personalized ‘Real-Time’ email status updates to loop the client into every step of the proceeding. Additionally, they provide an email copy of affidavit to the client before mailing and a free basic skip trace for new clients. 

Delaware Process service of court documents in Delaware is performed only by experienced process servers in Delaware that meet all of the latest licensing, education, and bonding requirements imposed by the jurisdiction in which they operate. Undisputed Legal, Inc. specializes in locating and serving cases on evasive defendants and witnesses. 

DISCOVERY DOCUMENTS IN DELAWARE

Both the party serving the request for discovery and responding to it are responsible for keeping the original documents safe. In this manner, engaging in a private process service agency like Undisputed Legal is preferable to ensure that the process is provided quickly and adequately. 

The parties must submit to the court the relevant sections of any depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents, petitions for admission, or replies they intend to utilize at trial or in support of a pre-trial or post-trial motion. In the event that discovery that has not been filed with the Court is required for an appeal, the Court, on its initiative, on application by any party, or by stipulation of counsel, shall direct the delivery of the appropriate information by the custodian to the Court.

The original of any discovery document may be filed by the custodian upon the Court’s motion, upon motion by any party, or upon application by a non-party. The party filing discovery with the Court outside of trial must also submit a notice with an itemized inventory of the discovery items they are submitting. The party on whose behalf a deposition was taken is responsible for ensuring that the officer who presided over the deposition has sent the original transcript to that party. 

HOW ARE PLEADINGS PROVIDED IN DELAWARE

Pleadings and other papers filed with the Court should be filed with the Clerk of the Court, except that the judge may permit the papers to be filed with the judge, in which case the judge shall note thereon the filing date and transmit the papers to the office of the Clerk of the Court. Filing documents via facsimile or electronically is permitted when expressly authorized by these Rules, an administrative order, or a court order.

All pleadings and other papers filed with the Clerk of the Court, including briefs, appendices, letters, deposition transcripts, and exhibits, answers to interrogatories and requests for admissions, responses to requests for production or certificates, and exhibits to it (‘Court Records’), shall become a part of the public record of the proceedings before this Court. 

Process servers play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the legal system by ensuring that due process is followed. Without process servers, individuals may not be properly notified of legal proceedings, which could result in unfair outcomes. By ensuring that all parties involved in a legal proceeding are properly served with legal documents, our process servers help protect individuals’ rights. We aim to provide efficient and diligent service. With our years of experience, your papers are in good hands with Undisputed Legal.

FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN DELAWARE

Simply pick up the phone and call Toll-Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your process service needs; no job is too small or too large!  For a complete list of our Delaware Process Service Coverage Areas, Click Here!

Contact us for more information about our process-serving agency. We are ready to provide service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives”– Foster, William A

Source

1. Each Justice of the Peace Civil Court keeps a list of appointed special process servers and may be seen by anybody who asks for it.

2. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the State of Delaware and the Justice of the Peace Courts will not be liable for any fees or other issues arising from using special process servers in cases filed in those courts. Serve process in a matter in which they have a personal or financial interest or connection, including those in which they are connected to one or more of the parties.

Delaware law mandates that anybody serving as a special process server be at least 21 years old and a resident of the state.

3. If service other than personal service is made in a landlord/tenant lawsuit, the court must be shown evidence that all conditions for service have been met (i.e., certification of posting of notice and complaint on the rental unit and proof of mailing notice and complaint, within one day of posting, by certified or registered mail to the Defendant.) 

4. And the party on whose behalf such service was required cannot show good cause why such service was not made within that period.

5. Within ten days of receiving the defendant’s return receipt in an action in which process is served pursuant to 10 Del.C. 3104, 3112, or 3113, the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney shall file an amendment to the complaint setting forth the defendant’s nonresidence and the sending of a copy of the complaint with the notice required by the statute.

6. Service of the pleadings of the defendants and replies need not be made as between the defendants in any action where there are an unusually large number of defendants. The Court may order that any cross-claim, counterclaim, or matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense contained therein shall be deemed to be denied or avoided by all other parties and that the filing of any such pleading and service thereof shall be deemed to be a denial or avoidance of the claim or counterclaim.

7. All requests for discovery under Civil Rules 31, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of the Court of Common Pleas must be served upon all attending counsel or parties appearing pro se, but shall not be filed with the Court. In its place, a ‘Notice of Service’ certifying that a specific form of discovery or answer was served on other counsel or opposing parties, together with the date and mode of service, must be filed with the Court by the party seeking discovery or the party serving the response.

8. Local counsel will be the custodian in matters involving out-of-state counsel.

9. No pleading or other paper required to be served by the party filing the paper pursuant to these Rules shall be filed unless the original thereof shall have endorsed thereon a receipt of service of a copy thereof by all parties required to be served, or it shall be accompanied by an affidavit showing that service has been made and how made, or it shall be accompanied by a certificate of an attorney of record showing service has been made and how made.

10. Unless and until the person seeking the sealing thereof shall have obtained, for a good cause shown, an order of this Court specifying those Court Records, categories of Court Records, or portions thereof which shall be placed under seal, no part of any Court Record shall be placed under seal; provided, however, that the Court may, in its discretion, receive and review any document in camera without public disclosure thereof; and, in connection in addition to that, no party shall be precluded from obtaining a copy of any document received or reviewed in camera.