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Simple English definitions for legal terms
substituted service
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A quick definition of substituted service:
Substituted service is a way of giving someone important papers when you can't give it to them in person. When you file papers with the court, you have to make sure the other person knows what's going on. This is called serving them. Usually, you give the papers to the person directly, but sometimes you can't find them or they don't want to take the papers. In those cases, you can use substituted service. This means you can leave the papers with someone else who knows the person, like a family member or coworker, or you can leave the papers at their home or office. You have to follow certain rules to make sure the person gets the papers and knows what's going on.
A more thorough explanation:
Substituted service is a method of serving legal documents to someone when personal service is not required. Personal service is when the party filing the document physically hands the paper(s) to the other party. Substituted service can be used in situations where personal service is not required, such as when a plaintiff serves a summons in in-rem and quasi-in-rem actions.
Examples of substituted service include:
- Leaving the papers with an agent of the recipient
- Leaving them with an adult of sound mind at the recipient’s home
- Leaving them at the corporation’s office, or place of transacting business
- Posting the papers in a public place, like a courthouse door, and then mailing copies of the documents to the recipient(s)
For example, if a plaintiff is trying to serve a defendant who is avoiding personal service, they may be able to use substituted service by leaving the papers with someone at the defendant's home or place of business. This ensures that the defendant has notice of the legal proceedings and their rights are protected.