Page 115 - Judgment Enforcement Course

Judgment Enforcement – The Step-by-Step Course

Then I ask the creditor if they have a copy of the Proof of Service. Again, that’s

the paper the sheriff or some other person signed under penalty of perjury saying that
they served the debtor with notice of the lawsuit against him. It is so important to
make sure that the debtor was properly served!

A Peter Story: I took assignment on a case for about 12K, filed the paperwork with the court,

located a bank account, and even got $10,000 from the debtor’s bank. I was happy! I was excited!
But then I learned that the debtor was never properly served! I had to give the
money back. And then the judgment was voided because without proper service,
the court never had jurisdiction to render the judgment in the first place. Needless
to say, I was bummed. But I should have checked the proof of service. My bad.

4 types of serves:

1. Personal Serve = The person serving the papers hands the papers directly to the
person being sued.

2. “Substitute” Serve = The person serving the papers gives them to a family member,
other relative, a person over 18 in the home, NOT directly to the defendant.

3. By Mail = Person serving the papers mails them to the defendant. (not as reliable).
4. By Publication = The defendant could be found, so the court agreed to serve him
by repeated notice in an appropriate newspaper

Here’s an open-book test:
1. Look at Appendix #7. It will take a few minutes for your eyes get use to it.

Figure out the answers to these three questions.

✓ What is the name of the plaintiff?
✓ Who was served?
✓ Was it personal or sub-serve?

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