Along with the rest of the legal word, the rules of process serving are always evolving. 2016 in particular is supplying a handful of changes for process servers. Each change aims to simplify the process and make service of process more efficient.
Changes at the Federal Level
The federal government enforces the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that help guide process servers and others in the world of civil law. Three amendments were put into place at the turn of the New Year that are especially important. Rule 4 reduces the amount of time process servers have to serve a defendant, down to 90 days from the original 120 days. This change is meant to ensure service of process occurs quickly and without delay.
Rule 16, meanwhile, also pushes for a more streamlined system by reducing the time judges have to issue schedule orders to 60 or 90 days depending on the situation, also down from 120 days originally. Lastly, Rule 26 lifts the prohibition on serving discovery requests early in the process. This means that a defendant can request documents on the plaintiff before answering the served papers.
However, the biggest change to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is found in Rule 11B, which states that email is an acceptable and legitimate form of communication.
State Progress
Each state is entitled to reforming process serving as they see fit. Florida, for instance, has approved internet-based transmission systems to accept service of process. This is a major step forward for an industry that has always been completely reliant upon paper service. Minnesota is taking it a step forward and making the use of eFile and eServe systems mandatory for attorneys, local governments, and sheriffs in all district court cases in the state!
If these trends are any indication, technology will continue to become a major cornerstone of process serving and go on to shape the industry as a whole.
