How To Find a Reliable & Ethical Process Server For Your Legal Cases
We have been in the process server industry long enough to see and hear of some downright abysmal scruples concerning process servers. This can make it incredibly challenging for clients to find a reliable process server that handles their cases correctly and ethically from start to finish.
Whether cutting corners, bending the rules, or outright falsifying service, unethical practices can have serious repercussions—not just for the client but for the legal system as a whole. That’s why we’ve mentioned some of the worst breaches of ethics in the following article. This way, you can be cautious when looking for a company to serve your papers.
The Role Of Ethics In Process Serving
Process servers are essential in society to facilitate many legal procedures. Hence their importance in upholding ethical standards within the legal system. As a crucial component of legal processes, they serve documents to ensure that everyone involved has fair notice of legal requests.
They must maintain confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, and ensure that all parties are treated with integrity throughout the service of legal documents.
Process servers must also continuously educate themselves on relevant statutes and court procedures to guarantee accurate and timely services while mitigating risks that may arise during their work.
Common Ethical Violations & What To Look Out For
False Service Claims
False service claims are some of the worst ethical violations regarding process serving. This violation happens when a process server falsely reports that legal documents have been served to the intended recipient when, in reality, no proper service has taken place.
This unethical and illegal practice is a significant breach of professional standards and legal requirements, with far-reaching consequences for all parties involved.
Improper Service Practices
Legal rules usually dictate the acceptable times for serving documents, and ignoring these rules can make the service invalid, posing a hard time for everyone involved. Process servers should not fail to deliver legal documents according to the laws and regulations.
Some examples of improper service techniques include cutting corners, using deceptive practices, or serving documents in a manner that violates procedural requirements.
All these actions jeopardize the validity of the service and can lead to complications for the client’s case.
Breach Of Confidentiality
A breach of confidentiality happens when the process server discloses sensitive or private information about a case to unauthorized parties. It also occurs when they leave legal documents in unsecured locations where others can access them.
Process servers often handle sensitive legal documents, so maintaining confidentiality is crucial to protect client privacy and ensure legal compliance.
Conflict Of Interest
Conflicts of interest can appear in many ways, from serving papers to close relatives or friends to representing a party in court. Process servers should be aware of such situations and take necessary steps to avoid them.
In process serving, neutrality is essential to ensure the integrity of legal proceedings and avoid any appearance of bias. That’s why the process server shouldn’t have a personal, financial, or professional connection to a case or party involved in the proceeding.
Real-Life Examples Of Process Server Ethical Violations & What Went Wrong
Here are some of the worst breaches in ethics we have personally become aware of. These stories serve as reminders of why working with trustworthy process servers is crucial for ensuring the integrity of the legal process.
- In Tucson, the company responsible for the service of the process of photo radar tickets found that a rogue employee was lying on hundreds of affidavits he claimed to have personally served. Hundreds of tickets were thrown out, and there is supposedly ongoing litigation against the company. While the process server received several years in prison for perjury, the ramifications arising from this situation are very large in scope. This company held this process server in very high regard and routinely touted his record of personally serving summons/complaints in Mesa in such high percentages to other employees, for them to strive to be as productive.
- We’ve seen numerous documents assigned to us that were previously in the hands of other process servers. When we’ve gone out to serve, we’ve found abandoned houses, locked gates, the subjects of legal papers don’t reside there, or the worst yet, that the address doesn’t even exist. If these other process servers were truly doing their job, these types of concerns are things that need to be related to the clients.
- Many AZ companies don’t disclose all of the fees they charge. They might omit such things as return trip mileage, notary prep fees, and unauthorized stakeout time, among others.
- There are companies out there that tout their fast service. Some of these same companies will treat their “rush” serves no differently than their routine serves but have charged double the price.
- There is a suit in NY that aims to vacate over 100,000 judgments due to process server fraud.
- Foreclosure Fraud may be expanding to process servers. The foreclosure fraud didn’t begin and end with the robo-signing of affidavits relating to how much the homeowner owes the bank. Now foreclosure defense attorneys are looking into whether there has been faulty service on clients by robo-process servers. Those people may have filed fraudulent documents with the court claiming they couldn’t find a homeowner facing foreclosure, despite paperwork clearly setting out a homeowner’s whereabouts.
Preventing Process Server Ethical Violations & Steps Clients Can Take
Here are some recommendations to help you avoid issues with process serving and protect your privacy. Here’s what you can do as a client:
- Choose process servers with strong reviews, proper licensing, and a reputation for ethical conduct.
- Ask for detailed documentation, including timestamps, photos, and descriptions of the service process.
- Ensure open communication to identify and resolve any concerns promptly.
- Ask about the process server’s privacy practices and how they handle sensitive information.
Why Ethical Process Serving Is Crucial & How To Choose a Reliable Server
Chaos would result if the legal community could not depend on the truthfulness of declarations of process servers in Mesa. We, as individuals, must strive to “police” our own community better through education and stiff penalties for abuse.
Some of the abuses described above are systemic in certain companies that only care about profits and not the rights of the individuals, whether that be persons to be served or their clients who hire them to serve said papers.
Process servers often deliver difficult news to individuals involved in contentious situations, which can sometimes lead to unsubstantiated claims of abuse. There are claims of abuse in these situations that are not substantiated or warranted.
The overall message for the client is to be careful when selecting a company to make the service. Go with your gut instinct, and if the deal you’re being offered seems too good to be true, it probably is.
How To Find a Trusted & Reliable Process Server In Mesa
Need reliable and professional process servers in Mesa, AZ? ASAP Serve is here to ensure your legal documents are delivered quickly, accurately, and ethically. Contact us today to get started!
