I am suing a corporation because one their repair shops in my area had damaged a component on my car that they had worked on. I need to serve them the papers to appear in court in mid January. Who do I give the court summons to? The manager at the garage? Or do I have to send it to the corporate office? That's all I need to know is who is authorized to recieve this court summons. I'm suing them for $1,040 for parts and labor to fix what they have broke on the car. Small claims court.
2007-12-18 13:19:36 · 6 answers · asked by ev1go 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You cannot serve them yourself, you need to have someone else do it.
Contact your county sheriff or marshal and they will properly do this for a small fee. If you win your case, you get the fee added to your judgment.
Can't be more specific, without knowing what state you live in.
2007-12-18 13:58:41 · answer #1 · answered by raichasays 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In my state, if I wanted to serve a corporation, I would go to the secretary of state's website and look for the corporate division. The authorized agent for service of process for each corporation registered to do business in my state is listed there, as well as his address.
I can't tell much from your facts, but an attorney would normally serve both the shop and the corporation as 2 separate defendants to insure they have sued the correct party. Otherwise, one may go to court and have his case completely dismissed.
2007-12-18 13:39:33 · answer #2 · answered by fantagirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You need to find out who their registered agent is. You would need to serve it on them or at the corproation's prinicpal place of business. If you are also suing the garage separately, you will need to serve them too. You can serve it on a receptionist at the business if their service agent is unavailable, but if you do that you will also have to send another copy to the correct addressee via certified mail and file an affidavit of proof of substitute service (get the receptionist's name or at least be able to describe them) and proof of mailing with the certified mail receipt with the court.
When you serve substitute service, you say on the affidavit that you served the "person apparently in charge" at the place of business.
Also if you are a party to the lawsuit, you CANNOT serve it yourself. You will have to have a non-party friend do it or a process server and you can also get the local sheriff in their area do it for around $30 but the sheriff is usually slower than a private process server (although they cost more).
2007-12-18 13:29:12 · answer #3 · answered by Eisbär 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In order to do business in your state, the corporation is legally required to file notice with the state's Attorney General of who can be served on behalf of the corporation in the state. Most laws specify certain corporate officers upon whom legal papers may be served. In any case, your state Attorney Generals office can give you the correct answer.
2007-12-18 13:58:04 · answer #4 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually, at least in my state, you pay the court a certain sum of money and the Sheriff will serve the papers. Is it not that way in your state?
2007-12-18 13:27:52 · answer #5 · answered by Chris G 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would say the manager of the corporation...get his name
2007-12-18 13:27:36 · answer #6 · answered by kittykris2002 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋