Saturday, November 14, 2009

ProVest Opens California Office

Carrie Bay - DS News.com - October 28, 2009

ProVest, a national process server management company, has opened an office in California to support the state’s needs with evictions, litigation, and home retention efforts.

According to ProVest, the new office provides local attorneys, trustees, and mortgage servicers with resources necessary to personally notify California homeowners of pending events and opportunities related to foreclosure and foreclosure prevention.

Read the rest of the story:
ProVest Opens California Office

-----------------------------------------

Stipulated judgments: the 'secret' savior

By Erica Sandberg - creditcards.com
Being sued for debt? This is one option you should know about

Many distressed borrowers react by avoiding problems. Robert Hild, CEO of AXZAS, a nationwide process server management company, reports that an astonishing 95 percent of those served never file a response to the summons and complaint or appear in court. "They know they owe the debt, so they throw their hands up in the air," says Hild. "They want to ignore it. But in many cases, the account has already been charged off, and the creditor may be willing to bend."

Read the rest of the story:
Stipulated judgments: the 'secret' savior

------------------------------------------

HALL v. NORTON - Service by publication invalid

Legal.com

Court of Appeals of Washington State

Service by publication requires reasonably diligent efforts to locate the defendant by exhausting all information readily available. Randy Hall's mail to Tracey Norton and Darren Kossen at their last known address was returned stamped with "no forwarding address." Hall's attorney "conducted research on the internet." A prior attempt to serve Norton and Kossen at the last known address was unsuccessful when a woman in the house refused to come to the door. No other details were offered in support of service by publication. Hall knew the name of Kossen's employer and Kossen's prior address, but did not describe any efforts to pursue those leads. Hall's reliance upon "research on the internet" is vague and general. Because Hall did not support the service by publication with a showing of reasonable diligence, the default judgment taken based upon that service is void. We reverse.

Read the whole brief here:
HALL v. NORTON - Service by publication invalid

Kenya Process Server Not Registered

Kenya Broadcasting Company - Walter Dzuya/Simon Achola - November 12, 2009

Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula Thursday challenged the validity of service of petition papers by an unregistered process server.

The case filed by 2007 election loser John Walukhe was adjourned early this month after the court of appeal was informed of fresh evidence.

Moses Wetangula lawyer told appellate judges Erastus Githinji, Alnashir Visram and Joseph Nyamu that Thomas Ndiku the man who attempted to serve him with petition papers was not registered as required by law.

The defense lawyer notified the judges that High Court Judge Roselyn Wendo had in September 2008 ruled that the man was not a registered Process server.

The matter was adjourned to allow the lawyer of Walukhe to file his replying affidavit.

Read the rest of the story:
Process Server Kenya


---------------------------------------------

Homeowners don’t see the payoff

Clients stuck as firm bounces refi checks
Mary Ellen Podmolik - Chicago Tribune - Friday, November 13, 2009

Jeff Franson refinanced his mortgage in early April, switching from Chase to SecurityNational Mortgage.

But as he mowed the front lawn of his Mokena, Ill., home one sunny Saturday last month, a process server drove up and handed Franson papers saying that Chase planned to foreclose on the house.

Franson was current on his SecurityNational mortgage, but a $93,702.51 check that Counselors’ Title Co. had cut to pay off his old Chase loan had bounced. Chase was filing for foreclosure after months of calls and letters between Franson, his lawyer and the firms involved failed to resolve the matter.

Read the rest of the story:
Homeowners don’t see the payoff

-----------------------------------

Estero bride-to-be faces foreclosure despite paying her bills

naplesnews.com - By AISLING SWIFT - November 14, 2009

ESTERO — Natalie Pickens of Estero opened the door of her Fountain Lakes home one May night and found a process server standing on her doorstep.

He handed her a notice of foreclosure.

“I was like, ‘That’s pretty weird. I’m pretty sure we’ve paid the bills,’” the 22-year-old Pickens said she told him.

Read the rest of the story:
Estero bride-to-be faces foreclosure despite paying her bills.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2009/nov/14/estero-bride--be-faces-foreclosure-despite-paying-/

-------------------------------------

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Escondido man allegedly shoots process server

By Staff - SDNN: San Diego News Network - November 11, 2009

A process server was recovering from a gunshot wound in his leg today and the man who allegedly shot him was in custody, an Escondido police official said.

Burk Neal Ashford, 65, allegedly shot the 50-year-old process server around 9 p.m. Tuesday outside Ashford’s home in the 1400 block of Red Bark Road, said Escondido police Lt. Bob Benton.

Ashford called 911 and said he’d shot the victim in the leg, Benton said. Escondido police officers responding to the call were flagged down by the victim on the street, he said. The victim was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido and treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound, Benton said.

Read the rest of the story:
Escondido man allegedly shoots process server

--------------------------------------

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

4 options when police call about debt

Justin Harelik - Bankrate.com - November 10,2009

Q: Recently I got a call from the police. They told me that a creditor has filed a lawsuit against me as a result of a personal loan from that lender. I made payments and I could not make payments anymore because I lost my job. Now I am still without a job and can't afford to fight any legal battle. What should I do?


A: I completely understand the approach you took to your financial distress: head in the sand. You simply could not pay the debt and could not afford to respond to the lawsuit that the creditor filed against you. So you decided the best approach was to do nothing and hope that ignoring the problem would resolve it. This is not uncommon, but unfortunately, the sheriff's department in your county or town is very aggressive and acts on this type of judicial order.

Here is basically what happened: The lender considered all available options when you started to miss payments. The lender sent letters and made phone calls asking for payment. These collection efforts went unanswered. You had a good reason since you had no job and could not pay. But the creditor does not care.

Then the lender filed a lawsuit against you. The lender was supposed to serve you with papers regarding the lawsuit. This does not always happen. As I have written before, some unscrupulous lenders serve you via "gutter service," meaning the lender's process server -- the person that hands you the lawsuit papers -- simply discards the papers into the gutter and claims he or she served you with them.

Read the rest of the story:

4 options when police call about debt

----------------------------------------------

Buffalo Grove trustee to get name of anonymous poster

Buffalo Grove trustee to get name of anonymous poster who chatted with her son on newspaper Web site

Judge says only she should see identity; woman then to decide on whether to file lawsuit

By Georgia Garvey - Chicago Tribune - November 10, 2009

Buffalo Grove Village Trustee Lisa Stone should be told the name of the man she accuses of making defamatory online comments about her 15-year-old son, a judge ruled Monday in a case being watched for its Internet privacy implications.

Cook County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Lawrence ordered that the identity of a person known online as Hipcheck16 be turned over to Stone.

"I'm determined that there will be protection on the Internet," particularly for children, said Stone, who was elected in April.

The man posted "deeply disturbing" comments to her son in the aftermath of a bruising election battle, Stone said, adding that once she learns his identity, she will decide whether to file a lawsuit seeking damages.

The comments were posted online April 9 to a story that ran on the Daily Herald's Web site on April 6, the day before the election in which Stone won a seat.

When the newspaper's lawyers said they only had the person's Internet Protocol address, Stone sought the identity from Comcast, the poster's Internet provider.

The judge ruled that only Stone and a process server -- should she decide to take legal action -- may be told the identity of Hipcheck16. Barring an appeal, he said, the court would turn over the information to Stone after another hearing set for Nov. 18.

Read the rest of the story:
Buffalo Grove trustee to get name of anonymous poster
------------------------------------------

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Lindsay's Dad Served in Gosselin Lawsuit

TMZ Staff - Nov 7th 2009 - TMZ.com

When Michael Lohan returns home from his trip to Boston this weekend, he'll have a present waiting for him -- courtesy of the lawyers at TLC.

Read the rest of the story:
Lindsay's Dad Served in Gosselin Lawsuit

---------------------------------------

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Unwed parents difficult to track

By Rita Price - THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH - November 1, 2009

A car is in the driveway, but that might not mean much.

Penny Huston knocks on the door and hopes that the person who answers matches the name on the court document in her hand.

Nope.

"She says he doesn't live here anymore," Huston said. "It goes this way a lot."

At least a hundred times a week, the process server for Subpoena Service Plus parks outside a house or taps a car window or maybe even pretends to deliver flowers -- whatever it takes to serve the court papers seeking support for a child.

Read the rest of the story:
Unwed parents difficult to track-----------------------------------

Friday, October 30, 2009

Frustration With Maximus Child Support

The Chattanoogan - Opinion - October 30, 2009

Periodically and for over three or more years now Maximus has either sent letters or actual process servers from the sheriff's office looking for someone who doesn't live at my address. I've called and called in an attempt to inform them the individual they're looking for does not live at that address. They promise to take my address off the file, the encounters stop temporarily then start back up again.

It's gone beyond the point of simply being annoying to a feeling of being of harassed by Maximus. Do they not know that people actually move? That old files with old addresses are just that old, and the individual(s) do or no longer reside at the address they may have on file?

Each time the clerks have been kind, the process server who came by yesterday had to listen to my frustration--after all, it's not his fault. He's given a name and address and he's just doing his job. But what about the 'collateral damage' in all this. The innocent caught in the middle?

The clerk I spoke with yesterday was nice and said she'd make a note of it, again. But there's no guarantee at some future date it won't happen again.

Read the rest of the story:
Frustration With Maximus Child Support

------------------------------------

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Lawsuit alleges NM broker evading damage suit

By BARRY MASSEY (AP) – Oct 22, 2009

SANTA FE, N.M. — A former investment officer for a state educational pension fund says a politically connected Santa Fe broker and his father are dodging a whistleblower lawsuit alleging improper political pressures on investment decisions.

Marc Correra, and his father, Anthony Correra, are defendants in a lawsuit brought by Frank Foy earlier this year seeking to recover money on behalf of the state for losses on pension fund investments.

Foy's lawyer, Victor Marshall, said Thursday the Correras have not been served with a summons about the lawsuit despite efforts to locate them since May.

In a court filing, Marshall said "Marc Correra has disappeared" and apparently has left the country. It also said Anthony Correra's house in Albuquerque "appears to be deserted" and that "it is not known whether Anthony Correra has left the United States."

Read the rest of the story:
Lawsuit alleges NM broker evading damage suit
---------------------------------------

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Massive Service Frauds Alleged in NY

By BARBARA LEONARD - Court House News - October 20, 2009

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CN) - A woman who says a law firm and process server lied about serving her with a collections complaint claims that "nearly 100,000 default judgments have been entered in the New York Courts based upon false affidavits from process servers working for defendant ALP [American Legal Process]."

Margaret Murtagh says that in July the New York attorney general sued 35 law firms that used American Legal Process because "nearly 100,000 default judgments have been entered in the New York Courts based upon false affidavits from process servers" working for it.

Read the rest of the story:
Massive Service Frauds Alleged in NY
-------------------------------

Monday, October 19, 2009

Bailiff pleads guilty to fraud, handed house arrest

Kamloopsnews.com - October 19, 2009

A city process server accused of defrauding or stealing from clients pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court Friday.

John Gary Granoff was charged earlier this year with breach of trust by a public officer, impersonating a peace officer, as well as theft and fraud over $5,000.

He pleaded guilty to the breach of trust and fraud and was sentenced to a 15-month conditional sentence with six months house arrest.

Read the rest of the story:

Bailiff pleads guilty to fraud, handed house arrest
----------------------------------------------

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Sarah Palin Rejects Juneteenth Settlement, State Incurs More Legal Costs

PR Web - October 4, 2009

Former Governor Sarah Palin, in the wake of her much publicized book and upcoming interview on Oprah, has rejected a settlement offer in the 2009 Juneteenth lawsuit. The Plaintiffs' settlement offer, made by jazz musician Gregory Charles Royal and former Palin supporter Kim Chatman, was for Palin to merely follow through on what Alaska Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh said Palin would do: issue the 2007 proclamation.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 4, 2009 -- Former Governor Sarah Palin, in the wake of her much publicized book and upcoming interview on Oprah, has rejected a settlement offer in the 2009 Juneteenth lawsuit (Case no. 3:09-cv-00091 United States District Court of Alaska). The plaintiffs' settlement offer, made by jazz musician Gregory Charles Royal and former Palin supporter Kim Chatman, was for Palin to merely follow through on what Alaska Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh said Palin would do: issue the 2007 proclamation.

Palin has been accused by the plaintifffs and has publicly admitted that she failed to issue the 2007 Juneteenth Day Proclamation which was required under Alaska statute. Palin has also been accused by African American leaders in Alaska as being the first governor in the state not to support the holiday observance.

Read the rest of the story:
Sarah Palin Rejects Juneteenth Settlement, State Incurs More Legal Costs
------------------------------------------

Sunday, September 20, 2009

When faced with foreclosure, don't give up

ANNE L. WEINTRAUB - Herald Tribune - September 21, 2009

Foreclosure has grown into an epidemic that affects everyone -- or someone they know and love.

It is basically this: the legal process in which a bank holding the mortgage on the property sues the borrower to take back the property when the borrower has not kept up with the mortgage payments. You will know if you are served with foreclosure papers when someone unknown to you places a large package in your hands that says the bank is suing you. Or, if the process server cannot find you, the bank can satisfy the law by publishing a notice about the delinquency in the newspaper. From the date you are served with the foreclosure papers, you only have 20 calendar days to respond or the bank can automatically win the case.

Read the rest of the story:
When faced with foreclosure, don't give up

-----------------------------------------------

Friday, September 18, 2009

Chrysler exec Jim Press owes IRS, credit union more than $1.4M

Robert Snell - The Detroit News - Friday, September 18, 2009

Chrysler Group LLC Deputy Chief Executive Jim Press owes the IRS almost $1 million in delinquent taxes and is being sued by his credit union for defaulting on a $609,000 loan, according to records obtained by The Detroit News.

Oakland County records chronicle the toll financial industry turmoil and the automobile industry collapse have taken on one of its top executives, whose financial woes mirror those of blue-collar workers and average Joes living paycheck to paycheck -- only on a much grander scale. He recently hired a lawyer, Wallace Handler, who specializes in bankruptcy cases.

Handler and Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined comment this morning.

Last November, as the auto industry teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, and as Press lobbied senators to support a $25 billion bailout package, he was caught in his own financial trap, records show.

Read the rest of the story:
Chrysler exec Jim Press owes IRS, credit union more than $1.4M
------------------------------------

Judge throws out petition case

Daily Nation - SAM KIPLAGATP - September 18 2009

The High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the election of Hussein Mohammed Abdikadir as the Mandera Central MP.

Dismissing the petition on Friday, Lady Justice Roselyn Wendoh said that the MP, who is also the chairman of Parliamentary committee on Administration of Justice and Legal Affairs, was not properly served with the suit papers.

According to the Judge, the petitioner, Mr Adan Mohamed did not serve Mr Abdikadir personally with the papers as required by law. She said that Mr Mohamed only left the suit papers at the law firm where Mr Abdikadir practiced from before he became a Member of Parliament.

In the ruling, Justice Wendoh added that Mr Mohamed did not conduct due diligence before serving the MP. Again, said the Judge, a process server sent to serve the suit papers on Abdikadir, was not qualified.

Read the rest of the story:
Judge throws out petition case
------------------------------------

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Sheriff making cuts to stay within budget set by supervisors

picayuneitem.com - David A. Farrell - September 17, 2009

PICAYUNE — Sheriff David Allison said in an interview at his courthouse office on Wednesday that county residents will see changes in the sheriff’s department’s services as a result of cuts ordered by supervisors in the 2009-’10 austere budget adopted on Monday by supervisors without any tax increases. The budget takes effect Oct. 1.

By late Wednesday, Allison had informed nine employees they would be laid off as he began the process of bringing his budget into balance with the revenues approved for him by supervisors. Layoffs came in the sheriff’s office and at the jail.

He said that residents will see fewer patrols, response times will be slower and processing investigations and delivering court papers will slow down because of layoffs and a cutback in overtime by investigators.

Read the rest of the story:
Sheriff making cuts to stay within budget set by supervisors
--------------------------------

A Fresno County judge has postponed a ruling on medical marijuana dispensaries.

By KSEE News - September 17

A Fresno County judge has postponed a ruling on medical marijuana dispensaries.

The city is seeking an injunction that would force the nine medical marijuana dispensaries currently open in Fresno to shut down.

But a judge continued the case Thursday, because the city hasn't provided proof that all of the defendants have been notified they are part of the lawsuit.

The city says they will mostly likely be using a different process server after what happened Thursday.

Read the rest of the story:
A Fresno County judge has postponed a ruling on medical marijuana dispensaries.
-------------------------------

truTV to examine jobs we love to hate

Rueters - Nellie Andreeva - Sept 17

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Some of the most thankless professions are being showcased in "All Worked Up," a new docu-reality series for truTV.

The show, which has received a six-episode order from the network, tells the first-person stories of people whose jobs get them yelled at, spit on and sometimes assaulted.

The recurring characters include a couple who repossess vehicles in Wendell, North Carolina; a process server in New York; the head of security at an amusement park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; a code enforcer in a housing community in Fort Myers, Florida; and a head of security for professional wrestling and two tow truck drivers in Las Vegas.

The show is slated to premiere October 19.

Read the rest of the story:
truTV to examine jobs we love to hate
---------------------------------------

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning

Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning
By Zane Wilson - For The Sun News - Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009

GEORGETOWN -- A Georgetown motel owner or his insurance company must pay for the 2004 drowning death of a Baltimore boy because the hotelier did not answer the lawsuit in time, according to a state Supreme Court ruling Monday.

The next step is a jury trial to find out how much must be paid to compensate for the June 19, 2004, death of Dominick Richardson, said William Walker Jr., the attorney representing the boy's family.

Dwight Hudson, attorney for the motel owner, said he was surprised at some of the wording of the high court's opinion and will ask that the justices reconsider.

Richardson was vacationing with his family when he died in the pool at Harbor Inn on Church Street in Georgetown.

His mother, Leola Richardson, filed suit the following May. She got a default ruling on June 24, 2005, when motel owner Jay Patidar did not reply to the lawsuit in the required 30 days.

Walker said "there were numerous safety violations" at the pool, documented by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. The agency regulates swimming pools open to the public.

He said there was no phone by the pool to call for rescue, and a required safety device to pull the boy up was not readily available. If those rules had not been broken, the boy might have been saved, he said.

Read the rest of the story:
Court rules motel owner must pay in drowning
-----------------------------------

Friday, August 21, 2009

Is Legal Service of Process on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter in the Near Future?

Peter Carlson - June 01, 2009 - www.larkinhoffman.com

Recently, courts in Australia and New Zealand have allowed legal documents to be served via Facebook. In Australia, the plaintiff's lawyers had first attempted to serve the documents personally on the defendants, as well as by e-mail. After both methods were unsuccessful, the plaintiff convinced the court that it should be allowed to serve the defendants on their Facebook page. In order to do so, however, the court required that the plaintiff demonstrate that the Facebook profiles found by the plaintiff were in fact those of the defendants. Similarly, in New Zealand, the High Court permitted a plaintiff, who had previously been unsuccessful in determining the defendant's location, to serve the defendant with process by way of the defendant’s presence on Facebook.

This relaxation in the requirements for process serving, however, has not crossed the seas and been implemented in the United States. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that an individual may be served by leaving a copy of the summons and complaint "at the individual's dwelling or usual place of abode …." It seems unlikely that American courts will interpret this language to mean that an individual's Facebook or MySpace page is deemed their dwelling or usual place of abode.

Read the rest of the story
Is Legal Service of Process on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter in the Near Future?
---------------------------

Monday, August 17, 2009

On Demo: Tool Tackles Process Server, Attorney Data Transfer Dilemma

Blog post by Mary Wisniewski - www.collectiontechnology.net - August 17, 2009

Paperwork is a pain, and technology wants to tackle this burden.

Consider Serve-X, which was announced this past spring at NARCA’s Boston conference. The data transferring interface from Service Exchange Network, LLC aims to reduce the paperwork hassle between process servers and attorneys through automation, and exchanges with roughly 800 process servers and 1,000 attorneys.

“It’s an intelligent way to update case files,” says Greg Kellerman, president of Service Exchange Network, LLC.

Read the rest of the story:

On Demo: Tool Tackles Process Server, Attorney Data Transfer Dilemma

-------------------------------------

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Judge rules Sprague petition for Essex County DA valid

KIM SMITH DEDAM - Press Republican - August 15, 2009

ELIZABETHTOWN — Supreme Court Justice Robert J. Muller dismissed a legal challenge brought against Essex County Board of Elections and Kristy L. Sprague, ruling petitions filed in her campaign for district attorney are valid.

The decision Friday afternoon says "while she must be a resident of Essex County when the general election takes place on Nov. 3, 2009, there is no requirement that she be a resident of the County now."

The only requirement imposed by Election Law, the judge said, "is that the candidate be a resident at the time of election," citing several legal precedents, among them case brought by Sprague's attorney John Ciampoli last year.

Five registered Republicans — Barbara Kreiger, Gregory Krieger, Judith Martin, Malcolm Martin and Nancy Dawson — filed the lawsuit two weeks ago, listing Julie Garcia as aggrieved candidate on the petition.

They claimed because Sprague lives in Plattsburgh, she is not eligible to run for office in Essex County.

Read the rest of the story:
Judge rules Sprague petition for Essex County DA valid
--------------------------------

Judge backs Sprague; Court rejects challenge to DA candidacy

By NATHAN BROWN - Enterprise Staff Writer - August 15, 2009

SARANAC LAKE - A state Supreme Court judge has rejected a challenge to the nomination petitions of Kristy Sprague, who is running for Essex County District Attorney against incumbent Julie Garcia.

The lawsuit, filed by five Elizabethtown residents, was challenging the validity of her candidacy mainly based on her residency in Clinton County. Judge Robert Muller heard the case Thursday, and ruled Friday that Sprague can run.

"They were wrong on the law, wrong on the facts, and as far as my opinion is, it was a publicity stunt and nothing more than that," Sprague said.

"I'm disappointed," said James Walsh, of Schenectady, the lawyer for the five. "I thought we had provided the judge with the necessary information and background."

Walsh had argued that Sprague should legally have to be a county resident to run for Essex County DA; however, Muller ruled she can live in Clinton County for now as long as she is an Essex County resident by Election Day.

Read the rest of the story:
Judge backs Sprague; Court rejects challenge to DA candidacy
---------------------------------

Belize accedes to Hague Convention on service of Legal documents overseas

Homero Ayuso - Staff Reporter www.reporter.bz - Friday, 14.08.2009

The Government of Belize has acceded to the Hague Convention with regard to the service of judicial and extrajudicial documents overseas.

The Senate last Tuesday passed a Resolution to this effect following an Instrument of Accession signed by Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, according to an official press release on the matter.

The Convention applies in all cases in civil or commercial matters, where there is occasion to transmit a judicial or extrajudicial document for service abroad.

Solicitor General of Belize, Oscar Ramjeet, told The Reporter that the adoption creates the appropriate means to ensure that these documents are served abroad, but they must be brought to the notice of the addressee in sufficient time.

Read the rest of the story:
Belize accedes to Hague Convention on service of Legal documents overseas
---------------------------------

FTC Discussion on Process Servers and Legal Collection Issues

by Phil Britt - August 11, 2009 - insideARM.com staff

Improper process serving was a big topic at the FTC's roundtable on legal collections last week. Industry experts and the FTC spoke to insideARM about what came out of the discussion.

A lengthy discussion about process servers was one of the more interesting and unexpected items to come out of last week’s Federal Trade Commission roundtable (“FTC Collection Litigation Roundtable Sees Lively Debate on Legal Issues,” Aug. 7).

The roundtable, held at Northwestern University in Chicago, followed up on the FTC’s February 2009 report Collecting Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change – A Workshop Report, which recommended that the debt collection regulatory system in the U.S. should be reformed and modernized (“FTC Proposes Significant Changes to FDCPA in Workshop Report,” Feb. 27). The report also announced regional roundtables to further discuss issues surrounding litigation and arbitration practices in the accounts receivable management process, last week’s event in Chicago being the first. The next will be at the end of September at a still undetermined location in northern California.

Read the rest of the story:
FTC Discussion on Process Servers and Legal Collection Issues
-----------------------

Alden Women Charged in Illegal Debt Scheme

Eileen Buckley - August 11, 2009 - publicbroadcasting.net

Annette Forte of Alden charged with filling false court documents NYS Attorney General's Office

BUFFALO, NY (WBFO) - An Erie County process server has been charged with filling false court documents that led to wrongful judgements.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announce the indictment against 34-year old Annette Forte of Alden. She was arraigned in Lockport on the charges. The false documents of service were filed with County Clerk offices in Cattaraugus, Olean and Salamanca.

From August 2007 to April of 2008, Forte claimed she served and attempted to serve the legal papers against citizens who allegedly owed money to creditors.

Read the rest of the story:
Alden Women Charged in Illegal Debt Scheme
----------------------------------

Process server accused of fraud in Cattauraugus County case

By Donna Snyder - CATTARAUGUS CORRESPONDENT - August 08, 2009

LITTLE VALLEY — An Erie County woman has been charged by a Cattaraugus County grand jury with 21 counts of filing false affidavits in Cattaraugus and Erie counties.

The charges are part of an ongoing investigation by State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has sued 35 law firms and two debt collectors and has moved to have nearly 100,000 default judgments thrown out, including 11,428 in Western New York.

Annette Forte, 34, of Alden and Rochester, was indicted on charges of first-degree falsifying business records, including 10 actions in Cattaraugus County between Oct. 15, 2007, and April 9, 2008, and 10 actions in Erie County of offering a false instrument for filing between Oct. 15, 2007, and April 9, 2008; also a charge of scheming to defraud between Feb. 9, 2007, and April 11, 2008, also in Erie County.

Read the rest of the story:
Process server accused of fraud in Cattauraugus County case
--------------------------------------

Harassment charge against Watertown businessman to be dismissed

newswatch50.com - August 15, 2009

Harassment and stalking charges will be dropped against two Watertown men, including downtown computer-repair businessman Michael DeFranco.

In Pierrepont Town Court Wednesday evening, Judge Robert Camp granted both men - DeFranco and Joseph Sweet - an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.

That means if they don't get into any trouble for the next six months, the charges will be dismissed.

The charges were brought by Colton resident Jon Sabin, who accused the two men of posting information about him, including his photo, on the internet.

The dispute was an outgrowth of a lengthy feud between Sabin and members of the Jefferson County Web Board.

Read the rest of the story:
Harassment charge against Watertown businessman to be dismissed
--------------------------------------

Tow truck operators to stand trial

Sara Suddes - Gilroy Dispatch - Aug 6, 2009
San Jose, California

A family of tow truck operators accused of using local courts to defraud hundreds of motorists will be held to answer for their alleged crimes.

"I'm very pleased," said Deputy District Attorney Dale Lohman outside the courtroom minutes after Superior Court Judge Gilbert Brown announced his decision to hold the family over for trial.

Although Brown dismissed a handful of minor charges, Vincent Cardinalli Sr., 66, Paul Greer, 32 - formerly Vincent Cardinalli Jr. - Cardinalli's daughter, Rosemary Ball, 34, and her husband, Michael Ball, 39, will stand trial for 158 counts of conspiracy, forgery, perjury, attempted grand theft and other felony charges.

"I'm not upset about these," Lohman said of the eight dropped charges against Greer - the majority of which were for alleged perjury. "You pick your battles."

Greer's attorney, Eben Kurtzman, said the dropped charges "probably aren't going to make a difference in the grand scheme of things."

With more than 100 counts against his client alone, Kurtzman said the judges decision was not a surprise.

Read the rest of the story:
Tow truck operators to stand trial
----------------------------------------

Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms

Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms
by Michelle Lore - www.finance-commerce.com - August 6, 2009

Angus McEachern faces 13 counts of perjury.

The case of a Hennepin County process server who allegedly falsified multiple affidavits of service has created a tremendous amount of work for the District Court and for the three law firms that used him to serve debtors with summonses and complaints.

The 23-year-old process server has been charged with multiple counts of perjury. A criminal complaint filed in May says the defendant admitted to signing approximately 200 false affidavits during the six months he worked for Edina-based Major Legal Professional Process Serving.

After the issue came to light, the Hennepin County District Court had to vacate more than 180 default judgments for which proper service of process could not be verified.

Read the rest of the story:
Process server creates headaches for court system, law firms
-----------------------------------------

St. Cloud lawyer faces possible action

By Lawrence Schumacher • lschumacher@stcloudtimes.com • August 7, 2009

Former St. Cloud Mayor John Ellenbecker faces the possibility of suspension by the Minnesota Supreme Court, after a state office that oversees lawyers accused him of unprofessional conduct.
Advertisement

The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility said in a three-part petition to the court that Ellenbecker, a criminal defense lawyer based in St. Cloud, failed in 2007 to return material to a former client, failed that same year to pay a process server he employed, and failed to cooperate with the office in its investigation of those allegations.

Ellenbecker, who has no record of prior discipline with the office, said the matters were “a misunderstanding” that were compounded when he “procrastinated” in responding to the office’s concerns.

Read the rest of the story:
St. Cloud lawyer faces possible action
------------------------------------

Browning gets served

Rick Brand - newsday.com - August 7, 2009

Suffolk Legis. Kate Browning was going door-to-door handling out a letter, but when she stopped at Victor Zalaney’s house she got something in return — court papers.

It turns out that Zalaney is is not only a local civic leader but a process server, and he handed the Shirley lawmaker court papers for giving her notice of a lawsuit aiming to knock her off the September Democratic primary ballot.

Browning on July 31 was giving out a letter to alert the dozen homeowners on the street that she had succeeded in removing troublesome tenants from a badly rundown house on the block. “I know Victor doesn’t support me,” said Browning, “but he’s still a constituent and I have to treat him like anyone else.”

Of the legal notice she said: “It was kind of funny.”

Read the rest of the story:
Browning gets served
----------------------------------

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Jeffco man arrested after insurance contractor fired on

By Kieran Nicholson - The Denver Post - August 5, 2009

A Jefferson County man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide after he fired shots at a man investigating an insurance claim, authorities said.

The incident happened at about 6 p.m. Tuesday in the 11300 block of South Deer Creek Road, according to a media release from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

The victim told deputies he was in the area investigating an insurance claim involving the suspect when the man came out of his home and yelled at him.

A short time later, the homeowner began shooting at the insurance-company contractor with a "small-caliber firearm," the Sheriff's Office said.

Read the rest of the story:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_12998297
Jeffco man arrested after insurance contractor fired on
-----------------------------------

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Process server charged with falsifying affidavits causes big headaches

Michelle Lore Associate Editor - Minnlawyer.com - July 31, 2009

The case of a Hennepin County process server who allegedly falsified multiple affidavits of service has created a tremendous amount of work for the District Court and for the three law firms that used him to serve debtors with summonses and complaints.

The 23-year-old process server has been charged with multiple counts of perjury. A criminal complaint filed last May says the defendant admitted to signing approximately 200 false affidavits during the six months he worked for Edina-based Major Legal Professional Process Serving.

After the issue came to light, the Hennepin County District Court had to vacate more than 180 default judgments for which proper service of process could not be verified. (The court has brought in retired Judge Dennis Murphy from the 9th Judicial District to preside over the case. “We will not hear [the case] because we are one of the victims,” explained Hennepin County District Court Judge Robert Blaeser, head of the court’s civil division.)

The law firms that used the process server in debt collection cases have also suffered, spending hundreds of hours reviewing all potentially affected matters and re-serving defendants in the vacated cases.

“It’s unfortunate that one unseasoned guy with poor judgment … can cost reputable firms and the court system such significant time and effort,” said Heidi Staloch, an attorney with Gurstel Staloch & Chargo, one of the firms for which the defendant served process.

Blaeser said that he’s never seen anything like this before.

Read the rest of the story:
Process server charged with falsifying affidavits causes big headaches

---------------------------------------------

Baby J's survives legal torpedo

Baby J's survives legal torpedo: Judge doesn't like the smell' of city's attempt to shut down harbor restaurant

Aug 01, 2009 - Destin Log - McClatchy-Tribune Information - TMCnet.com

If it took Destin two months to take Baby J's Water Cafe to court, the city can't expect a judge to make a decision to close the restaurant in one afternoon, Judge Keith Brace says.

"It took you from May to today to figure out this is not a vessel," Brace said at a Wednesday hearing, "yet you expect the court to convene an emergency hearing and in a half a day or less put this person out of business?" The city had requested a temporary injunction closing the restaurant over alleged safety violations. Instead, Brace granted Baby J's attorney Dana Matthews' request to continue the hearing at a later date, doing so before any of the witnesses -- Baby J's owners, City Manager Greg Kisela and others -- had testified, or any evidence had been submitted.

Read the rest of the story:
Baby J's survives legal torpedo: Judge doesn't like the smell' of city's attempt to shut down harbor restaurant
-----------------------

Friday, July 31, 2009

You Never Got Notice Of Being Sued? The Judge Just May Believe You Now!

By Karen Oakes, Southern Oregon Consumer Attorney on Jul 31, 2009 in Consumer Protection, Levy and Garnishment - creditlawnetwork.com

This week, the New York Times reported that consumers who had been the victim of fraud by unscrupulous debt collectors may be getting money back if the New York attorney general is successful in the lawsuit filed against two collection agencies and 35 attorneys. According to the article, the debt collectors had sued the consumers and never served the consumers the lawsuit(s).

The debt collectors then presented paperwork to the court proving that the consumer had been served and was ignoring the lawsuit….which results in a default judgment in favor of the debt collector. That default judgment then allows the debt collector to make attempts to seize assets of the consumer, usually placing a judgment lien against real property or by taking wages (garnishment).

The New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, is the force behind the lawsuit which seeks relief for 101,000 New York consumers. The debt collection agencies and attorneys may have committed perjury and the responsible parties may be facing criminal charges. The lawsuit alleges that the default judgments were obtained through the use of false affidavits (the affidavits were sworn statements that the consumers had been given notice of the debt collection lawsuit).

Read the rest of the story:
You Never Got Notice Of Being Sued? The Judge Just May Believe You Now!!

-----------------------------------

Monday, July 27, 2009

Keyser council hopes to better enforce ordinances

Sarah Moses - Cumberland Times-News - July 27, 2009

KEYSER, W.Va. — The Keyser City Council is looking at ways to better enforce its ordinances for trash, weeds and building permits.

“We need a buffer,” Earl Perrine, city building inspector, said at Monday afternoon’s meeting. “Currently, it isn’t working very well. I would like to have the citation issued before the authorized letter is sent out.”

Perrine said that while the changes made to the ordinance by City Attorney John Athey will help as he can now issue the citations, he would like to see citations issued earlier. Those, he said, would leave a greater impact on the homeowners than a letter. He said a number of the homeowners are very good at evading receiving these kinds of letters.

Councilman Isaac “Sonny” Alt said that since Perrine already issues a written notice that a person is in violation of the ordinances, it should serve as a first warning. After 10 days, he said, if there has been no progress on resolving a problem, then a citation should be issued and a fine incurred on the homeowner.

Read the rest of the story:
Keyser council hopes to better enforce ordinances

-------------------------------------

Out-of-State Residents Face No Consequences for Unpaid Freeway-Camera Tickets

Arizona Photo-Enforcement Loophole: Out-of-State Residents Face No Consequences for Unpaid Freeway-Camera Tickets

By Ray Stern - PhoenixNewTimes.com - Jul. 27 2009

In following up our earlier post today about 3,600 speed-camera cases on the docket for this morning in a single justice court, we stumbled upon the answer to a good question.

Many readers have asked: What happens if you get a speed-camera ticket on the freeway in Arizona, but you live out of state?

We had been barking up the wrong camera housing, it turns out, by asking a Redflex official whether process servers from other states deliver the tickets outside of Arizona. It doesn't matter if those tickets are served -- failing to pay does not result in any action taken with the Motor Vehicles Department, says MVD spokeswoman Cydney DeModica.

There is a consequence to failing to pay: You won't be able to register a vehicle in Arizona until you pay the fine and other fees.

Read the rest of the story:
Arizona Photo-Enforcement Loophole: Out-of-State Residents Face No Consequences for Unpaid Freeway-Camera Tickets
---------------------------------------------

Speed-Camera Court Crunch: 3,600 Cases Set This Morning at Justice Court

Ray Stern - PhoenixNewTimes.com - July 27, 2009

About 3,600 speed-camera cases are on the West McDowell Justice Court docket this morning at 8:30 a.m., and officials are bracing for hundreds of citizens -- at the least -- to appear in person.

"What we don't know is how many will show up," says Terry Stewart, justice courts administrator.

About 2,000 of the cases represent people who recently received state Department of Public Safety photo-enforcement tickets in the mail and have a court date set for this morning, explains Stewart, a former state Department of Corrections director.

It's safe to say few people from that group will come to the downtown court at 620 West Jackson, since they still have the option to pay their fines or wait to see if a process server shows up after they miss the court date.

The other group, however, consists of about 1,500 people who blew off their mailed citations, were served by a process server, and now have a hard court date set for this morning.

Read the rest of the story:
Speed-Camera Court Crunch: 3,600 Cases Set This Morning at Justice Court
---------------------------------------------

Junk judgments: Welcome relief from Cuomo for thousands of victims of debt scammers

Junk judgments: Welcome relief from Cuomo for thousands of victims of debt scammers

nydailynews.com - July 27, 2009

Signaling the discovery of massive fraud, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and the state's chief administrative judge are seeking to vacate as many as 100,000 court judgments that have been filed against New Yorkers by predatory debt collectors.

According to Cuomo, evidence uncovered in an investigation of a Long Island-based process serving firm revealed that collection agencies have run amok in the courts from Buffalo to Montauk.

It worked like this: Debt collector retained a high-volume law firm to go after supposed deadbeats. Law firm hired process server to haul people into court with a summons and complaint. Process server never delivered the papers but swore they had been properly provided.

When the supposed deadbeat failed to respond because he had no idea he had been sued, the law firm had a court issue a default judgment. The victim's assets were frozen or wages garnished.

American Legal Process of Lynbrook, L.I., exploited this scam relentlessly, helping almost three dozen law firms hammer people over debts - some owed, some already paid, some bogus - to the tune of roughly $5,500 each.

Cuomo is suing the firms, as well he should, and Administrative Judge Ann Pfau has rightly joined in the effort to clean up this astonishingly broad perversion of the courts.

Junk judgments: Welcome relief from Cuomo for thousands of victims of debt scammers
------------------------------------

13,736 CNYers had illegal judgments filed against them

13,736 CNYers had illegal judgments filed against them
Delen Goldberg - The Post-Standard - July 22, 2009

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced today that he is suing two debt collectors and 35 law firms, including some in Central New York, for illegally obtaining default judgments against thousands of New Yorkers.

More than 100,000 victims statewide had default judgments filed against them -- meaning their bank accounts were frozen and their credit scores shot -- after a process server, American Legal Process, falsified debt collection documents, Cuomo said.

The law firms Cuomo is suing relied on ALP and failed to notice paperwork discrepancies, the Attorney General said.

ALP lied to courts saying workers had tried numerous times to contact debtors about lawsuits pending against them, Cuomo said. In fact, ALP had never tried to contact the people, leaving them unaware they had been sued until the case was over and their bank accounts were frozen.

Cuomo said 13,736 Central New Yorkers fell victim to the scam.

13,736 CNYers had illegal judgments filed against them

-------------------------------------------

New York AG Sues 35 Law Firms, Seeks to Void 100,000 Default Judgments

Martha Neil - ABAjournal.com - July 22, 2009

The attorney general of New York has sued 35 law firms and two collectors in a case that could overturn 100,000 default judgments in consumer debt cases.

In a lawsuit filed today in Buffalo, Andrew Cuomo seeks to compel cooperation from firms that had relied on what may be faulty service by a Long Island process server that has previously been criminally charged concerning its work, according to the New York Daily News and the New York Law Journal.

The Erie County action was filed by Cuomo on behalf of the court system, and does not allege any wrongdoing by the law firms, the legal publication reports. However, it asks a state trial court to require the defendants to identify all cases they handled in which American Legal Process provided required service, and provide information about all default judgments obtained and any payments made to satisfy these judgments.

It also asks the court to order the firms to notify affected consumers of their right to be heard and seeks restitution on behalf of those against whom faulty default judgments were issued. The total amount of the default judgments could exceed $500 million, reports the New York Times. Although court orders allowed creditors to seize money directly from consumers' bank accounts, it isn't clear how much of this amount was actually collected.

Under some circumstances, it appears that default judgments could be re-entered (assuming they are voided as Cuomo requests) if proper service is established, according to the New York Law Journal.

The defendants include the New York City-based law firms of Stephen Elnstein & Associates; Eltman Eltman & Cooper; Jones Jones Larkin O’Connell; and Leshack & Grodensky, the Daily News reports.

A lawyer representing American Legal Process didn't immediately return the Times phone calls. None of the articles includes any response from the law firm and debt collector defendants.

New York AG Sues 35 Law Firms, Seeks to Void 100,000 Default Judgments
-------------------------------

Arrest orders issued for Sarasota couple

By Michael Pollick - heraldtribune.com - Friday, July 17

TAMPA - A federal judge Thursday issued arrest warrants for John and Marian Morgan, the Sarasota couple accused of a multimillion-dollar investment scheme, when they failed to show up for a scheduled contempt-of-court hearing.

The Securities and Exchange Commission attorney prosecuting the Morgans on civil fraud charges, meanwhile, is fairly certain that the case will grow in scope from its current $11 million.

Investors in contact with SEC are pointing to other investment group leaders who funneled money to the Morgans in the same way that their two co-defendants did in the United States and that a separate two-man team did in Alberta, Canada, said SEC attorney Polly Atkinson.

Judge Richard Lazzara opened the session in Tampa federal court shortly after 10 a.m. on Thursday. He sent an officer into the hallway to see if the Morgans were in the corridor. Then he double-checked with the SEC attorneys to make sure that the couple knew they were supposed to be present. The lawyers noted that the process server was not able to serve the Morgans in person.

Read the rest of the story:
Arrest orders issued for Sarasota couple
----------------------------------------

Subpoenas for law enforcement officers headed online

By KEVIN COLEMAN - naplesnews.com - July 12, 2009

COLLIER COUNTY — Collier County law enforcement officers will have fewer excuses for failing to appear in court soon.

A new electronic subpoena system is scheduled to be implemented in the county before the end of the year. It will only be used for law enforcement subpoenas.

The system, CJIS Notify, will coordinate the efforts of agencies in the criminal justice system throughout the 20th Judicial Circuit.

Currently in Collier County, an agency must use a process server to personally serve officers with subpoenas, or more commonly, to an employee at the law enforcement agency designated to accept them. An affidavit must then be typed and filed with the clerk of courts office.

Soon, those steps will be completed on the Web.

Read the rest of the story:
Subpoenas for law enforcement officers headed online
------------------------------------

Friday, July 24, 2009

NY AG sues 35 law firms over collections

The Business Review (Albany) - by Kelsey Swanekamp - July 24, 2009

The Attorney General’s office has filed a lawsuit against 35 law firms and two debt collectors as the latest stage in an ongoing process of legal action.

The lawsuit alleges that the firms did not properly notify people that they were defendants in a lawsuit. As a result, the complaint states, they were unable to appear in court on their own behalf, and the cases often resulted in default judgments against those identified as debtors.

According to the suit, the listed firms and debt collectors hired a process server, American Legal Process, to provide notification to defendants. However, the lawsuit alleges that the server failed to do so — a tactic known as “sewer service.” Instead of serving the defendants, the complaint claims American Legal Process (ALP) falsified documents, certifiying that the people had been notified.

“ALP’s scheme undermined the foundation of this (legal) system and denied thousands of individuals their day in court,” New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said.

Read the rest of the story:
NY AG sues 35 law firms over collections
-------------------------------------------

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Cuomo targets firms in lawsuit

ASHLEY STINNETT - LegalNewsLine.com - JULY 23, 2009

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit targeting 35 law firms and two debt collections over allegations of unlawful debt collection practices.

The lawsuit aims to throw out an estimated 100,000 default judgments that were inappropriately obtained against New York consumers.

According to the lawsuit, the companies relied on Long Island-based American Legal Process (ALP) to notify New York consumers that they faced being sued for debt relations.

However, ALP never served legal papers to the consumers that were notified either by mail or phone, Cuomo said.

In an effort to provide relief to thousands of consumers, the lawsuit asks the court to throw out all default judgments that were used by the firms against consumers in which ALP was directly involved in the legal process, according to Cuomo.

Read the rest of the story:
Cuomo targets firms in lawsuit

----------------------------------------

Suit Over Alleged Process Server Fraud Aims to Vacate 100,000 Judgments

Joel Stashenko and Noeleen G. Walder - New York Law Journal - July 23, 2009

Complaint contends that American Legal Process' process servers did not make efforts to properly serve defendants

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo is demanding information from dozens of debt collection law firms throughout the state as part of a civil lawsuit to overturn more than 100,000 faulty default judgments, he announced Wednesday.

The suit, Pfau v. Forster & Garbus, 2009-8236, was filed in state Supreme Court in Erie County on behalf of Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau. It asks Justice Timothy J. Drury to vacate all default judgments where the sole evidence that a defendant received service notifying him that he was being sued was an affidavit from American Legal Process of Lynbrook, N.Y. (See the complaint.)

In April, Cuomo's office arrested American Legal Process owner William Singler and charged him with fraud and other felonies. Singler has denied the charges.

The complaint against Singler contends that American Legal Process' process servers did not make efforts to properly serve defendants in lawsuits prescribed by CPLR §308. Instead of making the required three attempts to serve papers before being allowed to "nail and mail" -- or mail a copy of the lawsuit and affix a copy to the person's door -- Cuomo alleges Singler's servers often gave up after one attempt.

That, in turn, left thousands of consumers unaware they faced default until their bank accounts had been frozen or their ATM cards were rejected, Cuomo contends.

Read the rest of the story:
Suit Over Alleged Process Server Fraud Aims to Vacate 100,000 Judgments

--------------------------------

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

State AG Andrew Cuomo asks judge to void 100,000 faulty default judgments

Greg B. Smith - NY DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER - July 22, 2009

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday asked a judge to void 100,000 faulty default judgments overzealous debt collectors used to freeze bank accounts across New York.

The unprecedented move is part of Cuomo’s ongoing investigation into illegal tactics of debt collectors that include repeat phone calls, posing as law enforcement and threatening immigrants with deportation.

In a lawsuit filed in Buffalo, Cuomo sued 35 law firms and two debt collectors to overturn thousands of default judgments, including 24,976 in New York City.

Cuomo is investigating a wave of complaints about companies that intimidate people who’ve already paid their debts or didn’t owe in the first place with harassing phone calls and mailings.

He’s issued subpoenaes to 20 companies seeking documents. Now he’s set to target one of their most powerful weapons - the default judgment.

Read the rest of the story:
State AG Andrew Cuomo asks judge to void 100,000 faulty default judgments
----------------------------------

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Marshals track missing Sarasota couple

By Michael Pollick - Tuesday, July 21 - heraldtribune.com

FRAUD CASE: John and Marian Morgan could be hiding out in Europe

SARASOTA - The U.S. Marshals Service is now tracking down Sarasota residents John and Marian Morgan. The goal is to bring them to federal court in Tampa to answer contempt charges in a $10 million U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fraud case.

In their own e-mail to investors, the Morgans said they had left the country. On Monday, a Herald-Tribune reporter found a hand-written note taped over the doorbell at the couple's lavish bayfront home on Periwinkle Drive in Sarasota.

"We have disabled the door bell! So please KNOCK or call us on our cell phones! Thank you!"

There were no other signs of life, but at a second bayfront home on Tangier Terrace also owned by the couple, someone opened and closed a garage door and then lowered a blind. No one answered the door or the doorbell, which had not been disconnected.

While the note might stop a process server, it is not going to stop the U.S. Marshals Service, the lead law enforcement agency responsible for the arresting of federal fugitives.

Read the rest of the story:
Marshals track missing Sarasota couple
-----------------------------------------

A little more protection for renters

By David Bauerlein - Jacksonville.com - Tuesday, Jul. 21, 2009

Two weeks after Brooks Mitchell moved into a condominium he leased on Jacksonville's Southside, he answered a knock on the door and was shocked to find a process server delivering legal papers.

A bank had just filed a foreclosure lawsuit against the condominium's owner. Mitchell had signed a one-year lease, but the potential for foreclosure meant he faced the possibility a bank would take ownership of the property halfway through the lease and evict him.

"It floored me," he said. "I felt burned. Nobody is looking out for the renter."

Mitchell got the legal notification in April, joining other renters who had learned they're not immune from the foreclosure crisis.

But a federal housing law signed by President Barack Obama in May gives him and other renters some protection when property-owners go into foreclosure. If a bank forecloses on any dwelling and wants the resident to leave, the bank must give at least 90 days notice. Moreover, if the tenant had a lease at the time of the foreclosure, the bank must honor the length of the lease.

Those provisions are much stronger than Florida law, which previously gave banks that took possession of property through foreclosure the right to order the removal of tenants in 24 hours. Renters who balked faced eviction notices.

Read the rest of the story:
A little more protection for renters
------------------------------

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Jeddah heroin smuggling case - IO served show cause notice

Staff Report - dailytimes.com.pk - July 19, 2009

KARACHI: The District and Sessions Judge (East) Sadiq Hussain Bhatti issued show cause notice to the investigating officer (IO) of the Jeddah heroin smuggling case on Saturday, as he was absent when the court took up the case.

All the accused in custody, Syed Sarwat Hussain, Afraz Hussain and Mst Shafia, were produced before the court by the police. The process server was absent and the court issued a show cause notice to him.

The court ordered issuance of non-bailable warrants of arrest of the absconding accused, Abdul Jabbar Tunio and Haji Ibrahim Chandio. The court issued notice of bail plea by Afraz Hussain, co-accused and son of Sarwat and Shafia, and of B class in prison by Syed Sarwat Hussain for July 21.

IO served show cause notice
-----------------------------

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Lawyer arrested in stabbing attempt

The Associated Press - 07/18/2009

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Authorities say an Orange County lawyer has been arrested after he tried to stab a man serving him with civil court papers.

Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna says 49-year-old Ralph Gibson Pagter Jr. surrendered peacefully at his home Thursday.

Bertagna says the process server told police Pagter threatened him and then tried to stab him, forcing him to flee.

Pagter was held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. A large hunting knife was recovered at the residence.

Pagter has been an active member of the California Bar Association since 1984, according to the group's web site.

Lawyer arrested in stabbing attempt
-------------------------------------

Friday, July 17, 2009

Santa Ana lawyer arrested on suspicion of assaulting process server

Tony Barboza - latimesblogs.com - July 17, 2009

A Santa Ana lawyer who was being served with civil court papers was arrested after trying to stab the messenger with a large hunting knife, authorities said today.

A process server was trying to serve Ralph Gibson Pagter Jr., 49, outside his home in the 2230 block of North Towner Street just before 10 p.m. Thursday. The lawyer confronted the man, threatened him and tried to stab him, said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Mark Kozakowski.

The man fled unharmed and called police, who arrived at the home and arrested Pagter on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked at the Orange County Jail and released today on $25,000 bail.

Pagter has been an active member of the State Bar since 1984, specializing in bankruptcy law.

Santa Ana lawyer arrested on suspicion of assaulting process server
--------------------------------

Polk County Sheriff's worker arrested for aiding felon

Henry Pierson Curtis - OrlandoSentinel.com - July 17, 2009

Polk County sheriff's employee Tiffany Farr allegedly used a sheriff's computer to warn a felon about a criminal investigation.

A Polk County sheriff's employee resigned Friday after her arrest for warning a convicted felon who was the target of a criminal investigation.

Tiffany Farr quit after admitting she had used her sheriff's computer to pass on information about the investigation to the felon, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.

The information included disclosing where sheriff's deputies were conducting the investigation, Eleazer wrote.

Farr, 27, of Aburndale, was hired in 2005 as a clerical assistnat and became a court process server a year later. She was charged with two counts of illegally accessing a computer and two counts disclosure of criminal justice Information. She is in the process of being booked into the Polk County Jail, according to the sheriff's office.

Read the rest of the story:
Polk County Sheriff's worker arrested for aiding felon

-----------------------------------

Polk sheriff's process server arrested, resigns

TBO.com - July 17, 2009

A court process server for the Polk County Sheriff's Office was arrested today, accused of using her agency-issued laptop to give information to a convicted felon who was the subject of an investigation.

Tiffany Farr, 27, of Auburndale, was charged with two counts of illegally accessing a computer and two counts of disclosure of criminal justice information, the sheriff's office said.

She resigned from the agency today.

Farr was hired by the sheriff's office in November 2005 as a clerical assistant and became a court process server in August 2006.


Polk sheriff's process server arrested, resigns


----------------------------------

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

China's Rio Tinto Arrests. Everyone Just Move Along....

By Steve Dickinson - chinalawblog.com - July 14, 2009

The recent detentions of four Rio Tinto executives has caused much concern. However, the situation has been misunderstood by most in the West because of a failure to understand the legal background.

The Rio Tinto employees are accused of conducting industrial espionage. Specifically, they are accused of bribery and theft of trade secrets. These acts are crimes under Chinese law. Therefore, if the accusations are factual, the four Rio Tinto employees are subject to criminal sanction in China, with typical prison sentences of up to four years.

The only thing unusual about this case is the decision of the Chinese government to treat the matter not as a commercial trade secrecy violation, but rather, as a theft of state secrets. I assume the reason for this is that the allegedly stolen information is in fact highly secret and damaging to the position of the Chinese companies in the iron ore price negotiations with Rio Tinto. The Chinese are probably avoiding a criminal trial so as to better maintain the secrecy of the information. The underlying issue, however, is that if the accusations are true, the Rio Tinto employees and their collaborators committed a serious violation of Chinese law. The choice of the government to follow the state secrets route should not obscure this fundamental fact.

What does all this mean for other companies doing business in China? This proceeding is actually not a sudden shift in Chinese policy. Foreign companies need to understand the fundamental fact that if you violate Chinese law you will be arrested and punished. There is no free pass because you are foreign or because you work for a foreign company.

Read the rest of the story:
China's Rio Tinto Arrests. Everyone Just Move Along....
-----------------------------------

Monday, July 13, 2009

Sheriff's Office launches South Park tampering investigation

Jessica Holloway - kfdm.com - July 13, 2009

BEAUMONT- The Jefferson County District Clerk has requested the sheriff investigate what she calls the mis-handling of court documents. Lolita Ramos says she wants the sheriff to find out who deceived the clerk's office and broke the law.

Jessica Holloway reports, the incident involves a document related to the possible demolition of South Park Middle School.

"This is is where civil work is done," said Lolita Ramos.

The district clerk says it's always been done this way.

"It's worked well for us all these years this table has stood strong but times have changed," Lolita Ramos.

Clerks put citations on this table and in this basket for attorneys or their runners to pickup.

"I've asked the sheriff to investigate it. I'd like to know who's in possession of those citations," said Ramos.

Attorney Mike Getz is representing the Beaumont Heritage Society in a fight against the Beaumont Independent School District to save South Park High School.

He filed a temporary restraining order with the Clerk's office to halt demolition.

His private process server was supposed to pick up the citation and serve it to the school district but that didn't happen.

Read the rest of the story:
Sheriff's Office launches South Park tampering investigation
---------------------------------

He says he's not the daddy

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS

Margarette May Macaulay - JamaicaObserver.com - July 13, 2009

Dear Mrs Macaulay, I am writing on behalf of my sister. She and her husband are separated and she is waiting on funds to start a divorce. However, she wants to take him to court for maintenance of their 10-year-old daughter, but he refuses to accept the summons saying that the child is not his. Fact is, she cheated on him but she swears the child is his. What option does she have? Will she have to pay for the DNA test?

Thank you for your letter on behalf of your sibling.

I am amazed at the difficulty you have written about; I cannot really understand it. Who has been attempting to serve him the summons for maintenance of his 10-year-old child? They do not seem to know what they are doing!

Read the rest of the story:
He says he's not the daddy

------------------------------

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Murtaza Bhutto murder case adjourned

Murtaza Bhutto murder case adjourned
Daily Times - Karachi, Pakistan - Sunday, July 12, 2009

KARACHI: The hearing in the murder case of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, chief of PPP (Shaheed Bhutto Group), SVP Ashique Hussain Jatoi and six workers and supporters of the party, was adjourned till July 27 by Additional District and Sessions Judge, East-I, Aftab Ahmed as the court was told that the prosecution witnesses (PWs), who were issued with notice for appearance and testimony, either passed away or retired from the police service.

When the trial pending since 1996 came up for hearing, the process server informed that none of the PWs was in attendance. He stated that some of the PWs have passed away, while trial remains pending and some have retired and thus untraceable for serving of summons to record their evidence in the case. The trial court judge, after this statement by the process server, issued notices to more PWs and adjourned further proceeding still July 27. The accused include AIG Wajid Ali Durrani and a number of police officials including low ranking officials were facing trial since 1996. Mir Murtaza Bhutto and his men were gunned down in an alleged shoot out with the Karachi police on Sept 20, 1996. staff report

Murtaza Bhutto murder case adjourned

--------------------------------

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Born in the USA?

Eligibility claims attracting high-level interest
Joint Chiefs counsel, Justice Department now involved
By Bob Unruh - 2009 WorldNetDaily - July 9, 2009

California attorney Orly Taitz, who has pursued multiple legal challenges to Barack Obama's eligibility to be the president, is attracting high-level attention, with the Justice Department trying to add itself onto one of her cases and the legal counsel for the Joint Chiefs of Staff being assigned to review another issue.

Taitz has filed multiple legal actions around the country alleging Obama does not meet the constitutional requirements to occupy the Oval Office. One of her cases, filed against Obama as an individual for actions before he took office, is scheduled for a hearing in a California court Monday.

The hearing is on a request by Taitz for a default judgment, since she explains she notified the president of the action weeks ago, and his lawyers failed to respond.

Taitz has told WND if her motion is granted, she will immediately request access to Obama's birth records and other documentation that could determine his eligibility to occupy the Oval Office.

Taitz has been trying multiple additional notification procedures since U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled: "Before the court is a motion by plaintiffs for reconsideration of order to show cause or in the alternative to certify question for appeal. Court sets this matter for hearing on July 13, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. in Courtroom 9D. Plaintiffs are directed to make every effort possible to ensure that all remaining defendants are aware of the hearing and provide documentation that the individual receiving service is authorized to accept on defendants' behalf."

Read the rest of the story:
Born in the USA?
-------------------------------

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Herhold: Small claims commissioner owes us an explanation

By Scott Herhold - Mercury News Columnist - 07/08/2009

Three years ago, Efreen Gonzales, the owner of a modest Hollister landscaping business, endured the kind of unfolding disaster that occurs to the rest of us only in our worst nightmares.

Gonzales had loaned a 1990 maroon Oldsmobile Cutlass to a relative, who left the car parked on the street when he had the misfortune to die. The Gilroy police ordered the car towed.

The tower, Paul S. Greer, then sued Gonzales in small claims court for towing and storage fees. When Gonzales didn't show, Greer won by default. In July 2006, Greer obtained an order from Commissioner Greg Saldivar to drain $4,000 from Gonzales' bank account.

The first big problem with this chain of events had to do with fairness. Gonzales said he was never notified of the small claims suit and thus had no chance to defend himself. The first time he heard of it was when he got a notice that his bank accounts would be examined.

When he tried to explain this to Saldivar in the 2006 hearing, the commissioner cut him off. But a property manager at the apartment building where the small claims notice was allegedly delivered backed up Gonzales' story. He said he hadn't lived there for a decade.

The second big problem was that Gonzales was hardly the only victim. Court records reflected a pattern of people who said they were never notified, mistaken for someone else or had sold their car long before it was towed. In virtually every case, Saldivar ruled against them.

Greer and his father, Vincent Cardinalli Sr., now face a 169-count indictment charging that they exploited the small-claims system to gouge fees from victims.

A process server for Greer, Jeff Horan, pleaded no contest to six counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy to defraud.

Read the rest of the story:
Herhold: Small claims commissioner owes us an explanation
---------------------------------------------

Fewer drivers paying photo radar tickets

Quinn Schuler - kvoa.com - July 8, 2009

Photo radar cameras used to equal big dollar signs for Joe Geremia.

"Yea, used to be a pretty good business," Geremia said.

Geremia and his wife own Angel Enterprises.

For the last 11 years they have been mailing out flyers to drivers in the Phoenix and Tucson area, who have received a photo radar ticket.

They charge $60 for information to help drivers legally get out of paying their photo radar tickets.

A few years ago, Geremia says they would mail out 5,000 to 6,000 flyers every week. Recently, though, he says business has dropped dramatically because he believes more and more people are figuring out the loophole.

"I think everybody's pretty much getting the word that there are ways of getting around it," Geremia said.

Geremia says as long as you avoid the process server (which he says he can tell you exactly how), you can avoid a ticket.

Chris Hale, Deputy Court Administrator with Tucson City Court, says that's not only dishonest but if you are served you have to pay more.

Read the rest of the story:
Fewer drivers paying photo radar tickets
------------------------------

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Court blocks ‘rival Mufti’ Kayongo

Alfred Nyongesa Wandera - monitor.co.ug - Kampala - July 7, 2009

Kampala High Court yesterday gave a temporary lifeline to beleaguered Mufti Shaban Mubajje when Justice Yorokamu Bamwine upheld an interim order suspending recognition of Sheikh Zubair Kayongo as a parallel Uganda Mufti, until the main suit of the case is disposed of.

The injunction follows an application by the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC), represented by Mr Peter Kusima seeking the court to halt Sheikh Kayongo from identifying himself as a ‘Mufti’ and installing parallel district kadhis during his visits to mosques across the country.

Justice Bamwine ruled in favour of the UMSC citing dissatisfaction with the reasons given by the defence lawyer, Mr Charles Ssemakula Muganwa, not to file a response to the suit.

Mr Ssemakula told court that he did not file a defence because the notice given to him by the process server was not sealed and that the suit was parallel to the main one, saying it was thus improperly filed before court and asked Justice Bamwine to strike it out.

Read the rest of the story:
Court blocks ‘rival Mufti’ Kayongo
-------------------------------

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Service of Florida Lawsuit Outside Florida Must Follow Florida Laws

Blog - Florida Lawyer Jim Martin - A View from St. Petersburg

Florida courts generally obtain jurisdiction over a defendant when a summons and complaint is properly served on the defendant. When the defendant resides outside Florida, the process server is usually unfamiliar with Florida’s process service requirements. This often results in invalid service of process, which means the court lacks jurisdiction. In such cases, the defendant’s Florida attorney can file a motion to quash service and dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over the person.

For example, Florida Statutes Section 48.194(1) requires that service outside the State of Florida be made “in the same manner as service within this state by any officer authorized to serve process in the state where the person is served.”

Florida Statutes Section 48.031(5) states that service in Florida requires the person serving process to place on the copy served “the date and time of service and his or her identification number and initials for all service of process.”

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.070(e) provides that “[t]he date and hour of service shall be endorsed on the original process and all copies of it by the person making the service.”

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.070(e) provides that “a copy of the initial pleading shall be delivered to the party upon whom service is made.”

Read the rest of the story:
Service of Florida Lawsuit Outside Florida Must Follow Florida Laws
-------------------------------------

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

County not abandoning idea for process servers

06/30/2009 - Tammie Sloup - mywebtimes.com

La Salle County Board members have not abandoned the idea of process servers — civilians hired to serve civil court documents.

Sheriff Tom Templeton and board members have discussed the idea for more than a year, with a previous plan involving hiring part-time employees for the job of delivering the documents using their own vehicles and working for about $10 an hour.

With the cost of gas and insurance issues, the idea wasn't very appealing to those who expressed interest in the job, including retired law enforcement officers.

Sheriff's deputies now deliver the process papers in between calls, and thousands of papers awaiting delivery are backlogged because of the lack of time deputies have to serve the papers.

The civil papers, which could include summons for divorce hearings or in civil lawsuits, are not criminal warrants, which deputies would continue to deliver.

Fees also are attached to the notices. The servees' attorneys are billed for the service, which averages about $50, depending on the distance traveled to deliver the documents.

Read the rest of the story:
County not abandoning idea for process servers

-----------------------------------------

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Lawyer notifying president of lawsuit

California case challenges Obama's eligibility
June 29, 2009 - WorldNetDaily - Dr. Orly Taitz

A California lawyer seeking a default judgment against Barack Obama in her case challenging his eligibility to hold the office of president is trying multiple ways to notify him of the action, in light of a judge's order to do everything possible to assure that notification.

The judge has scheduled a hearing July 13 in a case brought by plaintiffs' attorney Orly Taitz, who believes the commander-in-chief is in default.

Taitz has told WND if her motion is granted she will immediately request access to Obama's birth records and other documentation that could determine his eligibility to occupy the Oval Office.

Now Taitz told WND she is trying a number of different methods to notify the president following the ruling from U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who said: "Before the court is a motion by plaintiffs for reconsideration of order to show cause or in the alternative to certify question for appeal. Court sets this matter for hearing on July 13, 2009 at 8:30a.m. in Courtroom 9D. Plaintiffs are directed to make every effort possible to ensure that all remaining defendants are aware of the hearing and provide documentation that the individual receiving service is authorized to accept on defendants' behalf."

Read the rest of the story:
Lawyer notifying president of lawsuit
----------------------------------

Economy plays part in process serving; a no-win situation

By T.M. Shultz - The Daily Courier, AZ - Sunday, June 28, 2009

Several Prescott investigation businesses and the county sheriff's office say they've noticed a disturbing trend lately of increasing attacks on process servers.

"It seems like the last year especially we are having assault after assault after assault," said Bob Palmer, owner of Palmer Investigations.

And by that, he says, he means actual physical assaults.

"It used to be when you knocked on a door, everybody was polite to you," Palmer continued. "It's a more violent culture now."

Kelli McFarland, owner of Alliance Investigations, said her employees mostly encounter yelling and door slamming.

But she has had a gun pulled on her, she said. She agrees things have been getting worse in the past year. However, she doesn't blame it solely on recent tough economic times.

She said she thinks it's because too many people are moving here from the "big cities" - people who are rude and self-centered by nature.

A third Prescott investigation firm has had guns pulled on its employees, too.

Read the rest of the story:
Economy plays part in process serving; a no-win situation
--------------------------------------------

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Hayden Kho's mom no-show at libel preliminary investigation

GMANEWS.tv - 06/25/2009 - Phillipines

MANILA, Philippines – Irene Kho, mother of controversial celebrity surgeon Hayden Kho, failed to show up at the preliminary investigation on Thursday of the libel case filed against her by actress Katrina Halili.

Neither did Mrs. Kho's legal counsel appear at the investigation under prosecutor Rafael Villordon, despite her having been sent a subpoena to her home.

Halili filed a complaint of two counts of libel against Mrs. Kho with two counts of libel at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

But Halili, accompanied by her legal counsel Raymund Palad, attended the hearing and swore by her affidavit as required by Villordon.

"Although the complaint-affidavit has already been sworn in before another city prosecutor when the case was filed, it is still my policy to require the complainant to appear personally before me to determine whether she is still pursuing the case or she already changed her mind from the time the case filed until the setting of the first preliminary investigation," Villordon said.

In her complaint, Halili said Mrs. Kho made false and malicious remarks against her in two television interviews, on May 25 and May 26, in which Mrs. Kho alleged that Halili taught Hayden how to use drugs.

Mrs. Kho made the accusations after the sex video scandal involving Hayden and several women, Halili included, broke out last month.

According to Halili, Mrs. Kho’s statements "were all calculated to induce the public into believing that the complainant is a drug user and a 'pusher' when said malicious assertions are false and unfounded," and that these were made to discredit her and destroy her reputation.

Despite the failure of Mrs. Kho and her legal counsel to attend the hearing, she would still be given the chance to submit her counter-affidavit on July 2, the scheduled next hearing on the case, Villordon said.

Read the rest of the story:
Hayden Kho's mom no-show at libel preliminary investigation
-----------------------------------

Man claims deputies violated his rights when tasered

By Christine Harrington - 3TV - June 22, 2009

PRESCOTT - Robert Leech said Yavapai County Sheriff's deputies abused, intimidated and violated his rights, while conducting a criminal investigation at his home without a search warrant.

He now has an attorney but deputies are adamant they did nothing wrong.

Robert Leech said he and his wife were enjoying the morning when a process server came through their gate.

That's when his wife went for her gun.

“She walks up holding the shot gun not pointing the shot gun and asked him to get off our property,” Leech said.

Needless to say the process server left and moments later two Yavapai County Sheriff’s deputies arrived.

Read the rest of the story:
Man claims deputies violated his rights when tasered

-----------------------------------------

Saturday, June 20, 2009

In Dallas, he could get a year in jail

By RICK CASEY - Houston Chronicle - June 20, 2009

Here’s an idea: Public officials should not be permitted to work on sideline businesses in any way related to their public work.

If a guy is in charge of supervising voter registration and needs more money, he should wait tables — not do political work on the side for candidates.

If a guy is district clerk, in charge of handling all filings relating to lawsuits but needs more money, he should mow lawns — not hire out to a process serving company.

The problem is that anyone holding public office who does outside work related to that office gives the appearance of selling the office.

To start with the second example first, when he was district clerk, Charles Bacarisse hired out as a $4,500-a-month consultant to a courier service and a company that served court papers on parents who failed to make child-support payments.

Apparently, the $135,000 a year we paid him wasn’t enough.

Bacarisse said there was nothing unethical about the arrangement, but a competing process server said she had turned down his offer (for a price) to help her by recommending her to lawyers who need those services.

He denied it, but the sense lingered that we had a district clerk who was on the take.

Read the rest of the story:
In Dallas, he could get a year in jail

----------------------------

Friday, June 19, 2009

Prescott, AZ pair held after woman points gun at process server

Prescott pair held after woman points gun at process server
abc15.com - Prescott, AZ - Deborah Stocks - June 19, 2009

PRESCOTT, AZ -- Sheriff's deputies questioned a Prescott couple after a woman allegedly pointed a shotgun at a process server Thursday.

According to Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn, the official went to the home on L Bar L Road to serve foreclosure papers to the homeowner.

As the employee approached the front gate he was confronted by 70-year-old Robert Leech, who refused to show identification.

As the server dropped the paperwork near the gate a woman came out of the home and pointed a shotgun at him, D'Evelyn said. The woman was later identified as 48-year-old Cindy Fox.

The server left and called deputies who arrived at the home to investigate an assault complaint.

Read the rest of the story:
Prescott pair held after woman points gun at process server

--------------------------------

Saturday, June 13, 2009

South Florida court clerks cuts may affect the administration of justice

Examiner.com - June 10, 12:53 PM

The Florida legislature cut $46 Million from court clerks statewide, and the affects in South Florida are staggering. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties will lay off a combined 259 employees, out of a total 3,250 current employees. This will mean longer lines to file or obtain documents, make payments, and will likely affect courtroom efficiency.

Until a recent law making court clerks’ budgets part of the overall state budget, each county’s clerk managed their own budget with little or no state oversight. Once the law went into effect, the clerks’ offices were immediately faced with the overall state budget crisis, resulting in massive personnel cuts and fee hikes.

In the Miami-Dade court clerk’s office, which currently has approximately 1,500 employees, Court Clerk Harvy Ruvin has announced that 145 employees will be laid off and 83 vacant positions will be eliminated. In Broward County, of the 950 employees currently employed, Clerk Howard Forman will lay off 48, eliminate 81 vacant positions and institute a mandatory 1 day per month furlough. Palm Beach County Clerk Sharon Bock, who employs 800 people, will lay off 66 employees.

Read the rest of the story:

South Florida court clerks cuts may affect the administration of justice

------------------------------------

Monday, June 8, 2009

Loveland man gets life term for killing man serving divorce papers

By Monte Whaley - The Denver Post - 06/08/2009

James Whitler is charged with killing a process server who came to serve him with divorce papers May 28, 2008

FORT COLLINS — A man who brutally beat a process server to death in May 2008 and then tried to kill his two young children was sentenced to life in prison today without possibility of parole after being called heartless and a monster by the victim's friends and family.

James Whitler also was sentenced to two consecutive 24-year-sentences for the attempted murder of his son, 11, and daughter, 13.

Larimer District Judge Daniel Kaup told Whitler he could have merely accepted the divorce papers from Stephen Allen on May 28, 200,8 and moved on with his life. But instead, Whitler beat Allen to death with a baseball bat and then tried to stab his daughter and strangle both children unconscious.

"This didn't have to end this way," Kaup told Whitler before passing sentence.

Read the rest of the story:
Loveland man gets life term for killing man serving divorce papers

-------------------------------