Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer, Articles

Service of Process

Service of process is the procedure that is used to give legal notice to a person that they are a subject in a lawsuit and that a court is exercising jurisdiction over the person. Usually, notice is given by delivering, in some way, a set of court documents to the person that is being served.

Each state jurisdiction has rules regarding the means of service of process. Usually, a summons and all related documents have to be served upon the defendant personally. In some instances, service can be fulfilled through the mail. In exceptional or very rare cases, other forms of service may be authorized by procedural rules or court order.

Proper service of process is the first step to establishing personal jurisdiction in a case. Service of process must be complete and must be done correctly. Without proper service of process, it doesn't matter if everything else is done correctly, the lawsuit can and will be tossed out.

Any service of process action must satisfy the standards of the due process clause of either the Fifth Amendment or the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. These amendments prohibit the federal or state governments from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process.

In federal courts, the rules for service of process are laid out in Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Contact a Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer

For more information on service of process and other aspects of civil lawsuits, contact the Chicago personal injury lawyers of Friedman & Bonebrake at 312-466-8200 today.