You've Been Served! The Podcast

"SteveLehto" (stevelehto) 02/25/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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As an attorney, I have sued a lot of people. And, from time to time, I have gone out and served those people with legal process. Yes: Rip someone off in Michigan and we might meet when I hand you your lawsuit personally.

What can I say? I’m a full-service attorney.

To sue someone, you file a lawsuit and then you serve the lawsuit and a summons on that person to let them know they are being sued. (Line #1 of the summons says: “1. You are being sued.” !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .) Normally, one does this via a process server. But, sometimes it works out to where you just have to do these things yourself.

I’ve never been beaten up but I’ve had a few interesting transactions with those being served. On a front porch, in a parking lot, on the showroom floor of a car dealer or the hallway of the Pontiac Police Department.

Hey, if I didn’t do this, some of these people might not have gotten served at all. And my job would be just a little bit less exciting. So here you go: You’ve been served! The audio:

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And (with a new backdrop!) the video:

And the pic at the top is just a scene I saw by the side of the road. Gotta love a nice old truck in front of an abandoned gas station.

Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 24 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.

jariten1781 > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 09:10

3

I did in person collections for a little while. I imagine process servers (and y’all apparently) get the same reaction as we did. Only got shot at twice!

SteveLehto > jariten1781 02/25/2016 at 09:12

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It makes life more interesting. It would also make a great job for someone who is clever and dependable. But the turn over rate does appear to be quite high.

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 11:01

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Great stories!

The desperation with which people try to prolong the inevitable... just get it over with !

SteveLehto > Urambo Tauro 02/25/2016 at 11:03

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Absolutely true. Delaying it only makes it worse.

Thanks for the note.

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 11:35

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BTW, Steve...

I’m having a good day; I just wanted to tell you about it. (Or was that supposed to be a phone call...?)

SteveLehto > Urambo Tauro 02/25/2016 at 11:52

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Nowadays, a post here will suffice. The key was to make the phone call on the day the other podcast came out.

And, I’m glad to hear it. Mine is going well too!

Urambo Tauro > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 11:58

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Are you snowed in too? We got absolutely dumped on last night and I’m on a low-priority back road.

SteveLehto > Urambo Tauro 02/25/2016 at 12:12

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Got a pile of snow but the streets have been cleared. I shoveled out the end of my driveway (where the plows pushed a berm) and the stuff is heavy. Not too bad though. The Level III Winter Killstorm wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

jeffieboy > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 12:51

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Looks like you are doing the show from Windsor! Better tax situation? LOL

SteveLehto > jeffieboy 02/25/2016 at 12:52

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Why, because of the snow in the top pic? That is good old All American Snow, my friend.

jimz > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 12:55

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I was so disappointed this morning. I was promised Snowpocalypse, and was all hot and heavy to take my Winterforce-shod Ranger out to play.

Then I look out the window this morning and see about an inch and a half on the ground.

AntiLag > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 12:56

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Do you have an 88 Brougham with a trunk full of disguises?

jimz > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 12:57

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listened this morning after it popped up in my feed. I liked the guy who thought you could just “give back” a summons. But the part at the end about the police officer was scary.

And one of the fun things about living in the same area as you is trying to guess what dealers and shops you are talking about.

jeffieboy > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 12:58

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You've got the river between you and the city...

SteveLehto > AntiLag 02/25/2016 at 12:58

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No,

But I’ve got a suitcase full of fifty pound notes . . .

SteveLehto > jimz 02/25/2016 at 12:59

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This dealer has starred in several of my stories. He is also the one who stole my client’s car a few podcasts ago . . .

SteveLehto > jeffieboy 02/25/2016 at 13:01

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I’m sorry - you’re referring to the Logo for the video. Yes, photoshop has placed me in Windsor. Which, as we all know, is “South Detroit.” At least, that’s probably what Steve Perry was thinking . . .

IDM3 > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:02

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Are you sure that's not your truck? I want it!

Panda Steaks > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:02

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So you mean all I have to do to meet the infamous Steve Lehto is sell a clunker in MI............. Off to detroit.craigslist.com to find myself a poor sucker

SteveLehto > IDM3 02/25/2016 at 13:02

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Not mine, but I know where it’s parked.

drdude > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:03

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The new backdrop looks nice. It really hides how your ceiling is crooked.

jimz > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:03

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it might be a little different if you’re just a process server. When you get into collections and repos, I can see it being riskier. I read an article some time ago (in Car & Driver, I think) where they rode along with a towing operator who handled repossessions. He said all of his guys had CPLs because the people whose cars you’re going to take know you’re coming. They know they aren’t making the payments, and you’re there to take away something they probably need.

Same reason DTE Energy trucks have stickers on them stating “ASSAULTING A UTILITY WORKER IS A FELONY.”

edit: yep, here it is:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/state…

SteveLehto > drdude 02/25/2016 at 13:05

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And I moved! I was in front of the other side of the room before. (The house is like something from a sideshow - at least in how the lines and angles are.) This is all in my “upstairs studio” - which I am still dialing in a bit with each episode.

SteveLehto > Panda Steaks 02/25/2016 at 13:06

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Or, you could come to a book signing. That would cost you a lot less than getting sued.

jimz > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:10

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speaking of serving, collections, and re-pos, have you ever litigated any cases against shady towing companies? you know, the types which have a contract with e.g. an apartment complex and “occasionally” tow away a car that shouldn’t have been and demand exorbitant fees to give the car back? not asking for legal advice, I just read something elsewhere from someone who recently had to deal with this and was curious.

Hirsch > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:12

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As an independent courier I also served a few people. I never got beaten up either, but some people get mad when you hand them that piece of paper.

My first reaction when people got mad was the universal WTF gesture. arms at my sides, palms up and the statement “I’m just the messenger, I don’t know anything about this.”

Most people were cool, but more than one told me, not so politely, to get off their property.

SteveLehto > jimz 02/25/2016 at 13:14

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Yes, but mainly for when they damaged the cars in the process.

Panda Steaks > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:18

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Oh Steve you take all the fun out of things, I guess a book signing will have to do

Snuze: Needs another Swede > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:19

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Are you doing a book tour?

You_got_served > AntiLag 02/25/2016 at 13:24

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I’m a process server myself and while I don’t have an 88 Brougham full of disguises I do have a closet full.

drdude > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:25

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Steve, when you serve someone face to face, have you ever considered wearing a gopro or other body camera?

SteveLehto > Panda Steaks 02/25/2016 at 13:25

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If you’d like me to, I’ll sue you when you show up!

SteveLehto > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/25/2016 at 13:26

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Kind of. I’ll be out and about signing books.

14FeistyFieSTa > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:27

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Nice podcast Steve, very interesting. Also funny to hear some of those stories!

On the topic though, what are the ramifications if someone who is summoned doesn’t show up in court? For example, if that case with the police officer didn’t settle, he didn’t show up, and the judge believed that he was summoned - what happens to that police officer?

SteveLehto > 14FeistyFieSTa 02/25/2016 at 13:27

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Contempt of court, among other things.

GoesLikeHell > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:29

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Those process servers are creative. Had one show up at my house at 8pm in a white van with a flashing orange light on the top, he walked up in a reflective vest looking like he was with the cable company, phone company or something and handed me a summons.

That’s the only time I’ve ever experienced that, and it was involving an auto accident with multiple parties involved (we were also victims) so it was a bit unexpected. Kind of makes you feel like a criminal or something when they could have sent it certified mail or sent someone in plain clothes and got the same results.

450X_FTW > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:31

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What if it’s for small claims court and the person I’m suing doesn’t show up? Will the judge accept only my side of the story being told?

Getting ready to file the lawsuit for the bike build, trying to find as much info as possible

SteveLehto > 450X_FTW 02/25/2016 at 13:32

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If the defendant doesn’t show up, you can ask the court for a default and a default judgment.

Xedicon > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:32

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I used to have a job for a small cable company as an installer where once a month we would have to do “non-pays”. Knock on the door, say “pay or lose services right now”. Not once did it ever go well, and one guy even drove around town to find me and threaten me for cutting off his service that wasn’t paid up. A different guy had a lady come out after he was up the pole and try and kick down his ladder.

Accountability is dead. Thank you Steve, for sticking it to butt faces all over SE Mitten Land!

jimz > Hirsch 02/25/2016 at 13:33

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Most people were cool, but more than one told me, not so politely, to get off their property.

move-over-peasant-I-have-an-M5-in-the-shop > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 13:50

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So when I was a young insurance adjuster in training, I was following my trainer on a task to go recover a judgment from a policyholder. My trainer warned me that this was the kind of guy who would take you for absolutely anything. Check your rings after you shake hands with him. He would apparently keep receipts from dates, then, when the relationship ended, sue the girl for half of everything he spent. If she didn't show up in court, boom, default judgment. Anyway, this guy had loaned a motorcycle to a friend, and his friend wrecked it. Insurance paid out the total loss, but while his friend was still in the hospital, he served friend with papers suing him for the bike. Now, if you file an insurance claim, your insurance company has rights of subrogation. That is, you can't recover for damages we pay you for, the recovered damages belong to us. Guy won his case, got a judgment, so now we have to deal with getting the money back from him. We're meeting him at a local bank for him to sign and have notarized paperwork that gives us the rights to the judgment. When he walks in, you can tell the notary has dealt with him before. When he called the courts to verify case numbers or whatever, he was on first name basis with the clerk, and she did not sound happy that he was calling.

Panda Steaks > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:01

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Sadly not the first time I have heard that exact statement

QADude > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:03

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Great podcast as usual Steve! I always find your stories amusing and educational as well. It’s nice to see what really happens out there, as I’ve heard some interesting stories third-person.

ateamfan42 > 450X_FTW 02/25/2016 at 14:17

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To expand a little on Steve’s (obviously correct) answer based on my personal experiences with small claims:

If the person bringing the case doesn’t show, the defendant can ask for the case to be dismissed. If this has already happened before for the same case, the judge can dismiss the case with prejudice, which I believe prevents the complainant from bringing back the case again.

If the defendant doesn’t pay up on a judgement, you can summon them to a hearing where they explain to the court why they can’t comply with the judgement (this is where wages can be garnished, etc.). If they don’t show for that, you can ask the court to issue a warrant to have them arrested and brought to a hearing.

The above of course may vary from state to state. Small claims rules are generally pretty easy to understand, as they tend to be written for the layperson to follow.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:23

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Hey Steve,

Great podcast as always. If it makes you feel a bit better about the Justice System and cops refusing summons, my sister is a Sheriff’s Deputy and goes to court on her day off ALL THE TIME.

Does it piss her off?

Yep.

Does she go?

You’re god damn right she does.

ateamfan42 > Xedicon 02/25/2016 at 14:24

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I’m surprised your company put in so much effort. I think a letter warning services were about to be cut off would be just fine, and avoid face-to-face confrontations with the sorts of customers you company probably doesn’t want anyway. The people who don’t pay bills often are not the most pleasant sort.

ateamfan42 > GoesLikeHell 02/25/2016 at 14:30

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Kind of makes you feel like a criminal or something when they could have sent it certified mail or sent someone in plain clothes and got the same results.

They may have wanted to get the service done quickly for scheduling reasons. Certified mail can take a while if people aren’t home and won’t go to the post office to sign for their mail.

I was once trying to serve an ex-landlady in a small claims case, and she wasn’t picking up the certified letter. Since the hearing date was rapidly approaching, I got my letter back from the post office and had to arrange for the sheriff’s department to serve her in person instead.

gcodori > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:33

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Not sure if it’s the same in every state but I was under the impression that any adult (like a receptionist) who works for the person could be the person who can be served in lieu of the actual named defendant. True?

So you could have served the wife at the boat house or the receptionist of the dealership, etc?

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:35

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As always an entertaining podcast. That picture of the truck is bugging me. I’m about 90% sure I should know where that is but can’t place it.

In other news, did you see that the Kirkish Building in downtown Houghton collapsed ?

SteveLehto > gcodori 02/25/2016 at 14:37

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No, if a person, you need to serve them. If a corp, you serve the agent and so on.

SteveLehto > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 02/25/2016 at 14:38

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I saw that: 3 buildings collapsed in one week.

The truck is in the lower peninsula.

gcodori > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 14:47

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Ah - I figured for individuals then yes, the individual would need to be served (like the guy who assaulted your client).

But would the owner of a dealer need to be served? Wouldn’t an agent of the dealer be served or do you have to do both (the dealership/agent + the owner/individual). Aren’t most dealers corporations or LLC, etc?

On another note - have you any thoughts about the process of being served electronically, such as serving divorce papers via Facebook, etc?

SteveLehto > gcodori 02/25/2016 at 14:49

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That also depends on the rule. And if someone is hard to find you can get an order for alternate service.

The problem with any form of e-service is that you can never prove that the recipient was correct - unless they admit they got it. I’m sure it will evolve but it will have its problems.

Xedicon > ateamfan42 02/25/2016 at 14:56

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They got a mailed in warning first. Also at the time it was a case of “I need to do this job so I don’t lose my house and can still eat”. Thankfully I’ve long since left that behind.

Hirsch > jimz 02/25/2016 at 14:56

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Yeah, pretty damn close!

gcodori > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 15:03

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Thanks for the insight - I was always fascinated with the whole process!

Umrguy42: Add $5 for shipping and handling > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 16:10

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I was assuming that a) you say he’s been sued enough, he’s nonchalant cuz he doesn’t care, what’s another one, b) he’s also at the point where he knows there’s no point in trying to blow it off, combined with c) making a fuss in front of these other high-roller types would just make him look bad anyway.

StuntmanDan > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 16:29

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Could you have called someone from the court and told them that you served a witness and that he told you that he planned to not come in? Or would that be the same as you telling them later after he doesn’t show?

450X_FTW > ateamfan42 02/25/2016 at 16:49

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For me, I’d be the plaintiff, so what would happen if the defendant did not show?

10001010 > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 16:58

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First, kudos for serving your own papers! I worked for a legal courier service back in the ‘00s and sometimes got stuck serving summons. Thankless job. The worst was when someone had no idea why they were being sued and wanted an explanation. You can only say, “I’m just the courier, you should probably ask your attorney.” so many times.

Pulling copy requests from the courthouse was a much better time but that’s mostly online these days.

SteveLehto > StuntmanDan 02/25/2016 at 18:30

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Not sure they’d care of believe me beforehand. But I certainly would have brought it up with the judge the second it looked like were going to go to trial (we found out it would settle almost immediately that morning.)

SteveLehto > 10001010 02/25/2016 at 18:32

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Except in Wayne county, when you have to go to the dreaded basement. There, the files look like the final scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark - after a cyclone has gone through first.

IGetPwnedOften > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 18:43

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I love these kind of anecdotes - thanks for that.

As for the cop, I used to work in IT security and did a lot of business with various government departments here in the UK, including the Ministry of Justice, with whom I worked on various projects to protect court IT systems. As a result, I got to meet lots of interesting people, including many solicitors and barristers, and nearly every one of the them told me the police routinely lie in court and the judges always, always believe them.

I asked why they didn’t call them out on it, and they told me that if you directly accuse a police officer of lying in court, the chances are the judge will slap a contempt ruling on you. When I said how crazy they was, they simply said “Welcome to the justice system...”

EricG > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 19:49

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Good video as usual. It's actually very disturbing to know there as police officers who are willing to lie so they don't have to report on their day off.

10001010 > SteveLehto 02/25/2016 at 20:24

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One tiny courthouse I went to in East Texas had ALL of their filings going back to the 60s in two giant binders. One for civil and another for criminal. Quaint.

Fisty > SteveLehto 02/26/2016 at 07:19

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Cool stories, bro.

I particularly enjoyed the tale about documents being stuffed into your coat. I had a chap do the very same thing to me, except that he went for my inside pocket. He employed a rather vigorous wrist action too- my suit coat was lucky to survive undamaged.

Another lass, I didn’t serve personally, but the affidavit I got back from my process server stands in the annals of time as the greatest legal document ever ever. He deposed to the discussion he had when the door opened, and before him was the woman we were suing for recovery of possession of the house in which she was standing. Him: “Are you Jane Doe, the defendant named in these proceedings?” Her: “Yes, and I will burn the house down with me in it.” -fin-

ateamfan42 > 450X_FTW 02/26/2016 at 08:03

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Well, as Steve said, you could ask the judge for a default judgment. You normally don’t even need to present evidence at that point. If the defendant doesn’t show, then they are presumed to not be interested in arguing their side, and you win by default. If the defendant has a legitimate reason for missing the hearing (medical emergency, etc.), they can usually file an appeal.

You may want to go to small claims sometime as an observer and just check out how the proceedings work. I was very surprised in how many cases either the defendant, or plaintiff, or both, didn’t show.

Check out your state’s website to see if they have some instructions on the intricacies of small claims. Since small claims is intended to primarily be handled without attorneys (some states do allow legal representation if you want to pay for that), there are usually good instructions available to help a layperson through the process.

450X_FTW > ateamfan42 02/26/2016 at 08:04

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That’s some good advice, thanks.

ronmler3 > SteveLehto 02/26/2016 at 17:05

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Anyone can sue anyone else at any time for anything!!

SteveLehto > ronmler3 02/26/2016 at 17:11

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Quite true!

Jinjuku > SteveLehto 03/03/2016 at 11:17

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I have an acquaintance that is running from some creditors. Namely a house they walked away from. They are under the belief if the go to ground and can’t be served with papers that a suite can’t be filed against them.

SteveLehto > Jinjuku 03/03/2016 at 11:20

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A Plaintiff can get an order for alternate service. Like, Mail to the last known address, post a copy at the courthouse and run an ad in a local newspaper. The odds of them seeing that are REALLY slim but guess what? Once they do those things, the service is good.

They’re probably just wasting their time and delaying the inevitable.

Jinjuku > SteveLehto 03/03/2016 at 11:30

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I tried explaining that to them. That they can tried in absentia(?) and then there will be a default judgement.

Jinjuku > SteveLehto 03/03/2016 at 11:58

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With the LEO that was a witness: what are the ramifications of recording the service?

SteveLehto > Jinjuku 03/03/2016 at 11:59

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It would have helped if I had done it - but I hadn’t. Who’d have thought I’d need to?