Watch CBS News

Service Of Process

By Amy E. Feldman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Ok, you filed a lawsuit. Now what?

Justin Bieber recently tweeted a photo of something a fan had thrown onstage - her bra. Her mother must be so proud. R&B singer Ciara would have been much happier with that gift than what she was given during her concert - a lawsuit. They couldn't just send it in the mail?

Actually, no.

Once a lawsuit is filed, the person who's suing has to claim that the person being sued - the defendant - actually got a copy of the lawsuit. Getting a lawsuit into the hands of the defendant is called service of process. Each jurisdiction has rules about how to serve process but it often has to be handed over in person. In most jurisdictions, you can hire a process server to deliver it, but no matter who actually serves it, you must show that the defendant received it. So a video that winds up on TMZ showing the defendant singing while reading the lawsuit - or a tweet saying, 'take a look at what I got' - would qualify as adequate proof that you've been served.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.