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Judgment Enforcement – The Step-by-Step Course

2. Look at Appendices #8 and #9. Which one is a sub-serve?

About 5% of the time there is a problem with the proof of service. The name or date
might be wrong, or in some instances the wrong person was served. And, if your judgment
wasn’t properly served or recorded, your debtor can come back at almost any time and

have the judgment set aside or voided. Even years later.

It’s happened to me more than once. Actually about 8 times. I learned the hard way. So
now, before I take a case, I ask the creditor for the proof of service. If the creditor doesn’t
have one, I ask him to find it and send it to me. Or, if it’s handy, I may look it up online or

get a copy at the courthouse.

4 Things to Look For When You Check the Proof of Service:

1) Who served the papers? Sheriff? Process server? Buddy? Spouse?

2) Who received the papers? The defendant? Daughter? Someone else at his home?

3) That is, was it “personal service” (it went into the defendant’s hands personally. Or
was it “substituted service (it went into the hand of a competent adult at that
address, to give to the defendant)?

4) Was a corporation or an individual served?

UWho served the papers?

Look to see if the papers were served by a sheriff, a registered
process server (RPS), or a friend or associate of the creditor. In most
states, if it’s a small claims case, anybody who is not the Plaintiff
can serve the defendant. Even the plaintiff’s son or wife can serve.
It’s a “good serve.”

However, if the validity of the service is later challenged, the word of the friend or the
associate of the plaintiff may not have as much weight as the word of a sheriff or registered
process server (RPS). And I’ve seen instances where the word of a registered process
server is not given as much weight in court as the word of sheriff.

Don’t get paranoid! The serve is good 95 times out of 100. But check to see who
served it so you know. It’s a big deal.

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