What is the importance of receiving a court supenae by certified mail vs snail mail?

Question

The opposing lawyer supenaed my primary doc for med. records. His letter of request stated the request was by certified letter- but in fact sent standard 1st class. Becoming wary, my doc thought this odd and was reluctant ...thinking perhaps a strategy was at play here.
I think it would be helpful to know the rules of the supenae game.

Thanx in advance for taking on this query.

Tom

Answer 1

When I prep a case for trial, I send the first round of subpoenas by both first class and certified mail. There are several reasons for doing so, including simple courtesy: if the doctor's office is not open to sign for the certified mailpiece, then the first class mailpiece contains the same information, and the doctor can respond.

During pretrial discovery, however, I just send it first class mail...and normally, I don't use a subpoena during pretrial discovery (but your state may have a different practice). If the doctor wants to play games, good for the defense: until the medical records are turned over, I do not allow the depositions to go forward; and because I always use the deposition to probe the plaintiff's medical condition, I always refuse to schedule the independent medical examination until after depositions, so the doctor's delayed turnover of the medical records is helpful to the cause of the insurance company, because it translates directly, day-for-day, into a delay in the trial date, and ultimately a delay in the issuance of the settlement check.

If the package includes an authorization signed by you to view the records, your doctor would serve you best by sending the records forthwith.

Answer 2

Well, with certified mail, a signature is required for delivery, giving proof that the person did receive the subpoena. Not sure why your atty. chose to send the first class mail, unless he was sure your doc would cooperate. Sounds like that's what happened, but it made your doc wary. You may want to ask your attorney to phone the doctor and explain to him why this was done.

Answer 3

There's no rule for which way to send a subpoena. Most prefer certified mail to have a receipt but there's no rule against sending it regular mail.

Answer 4

Normally a subpoena is sent by registered mail so that the recipient is reuired to sign for it. That way, they can't say they did not receive it.

Not sure why your doc's was sent 1st class.