Friday, January 30, 2009

192 caught on radar cameras have $26 process fee waived

By Kim Smith - ARIZONA DAILY STAR - 01.30.2009

Server may not have given them properly — or even at all

Tucson City Court is waiving a $26 processing fee for nearly 200 people who were caught speeding by city photo-radar cameras but who may not have received their citations properly.

Court administrators announced last week that they were investigating 1,000 photo-radar citations that were supposed to be delivered by a process server employed by Hawkins and E-Z Messenger Legal Support Providers.

The court had received more than a dozen complaints from people who received notices that a default judgment had been filed against them when they had never received their photo-enforcement citations, said Chris Hale, deputy City Court administrator.

The investigation revealed the process server may have filed false affidavits indicating he'd served people properly when he may have served them improperly or not at all, Hale said.

Read the rest of the story:
192 caught on radar cameras have $26 process fee waived

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Private detective on trial for posing as cop in Madison County

BY BRIAN BRUEGGEMANN - News-Democrat - Jan. 29, 2009

EDWARDSVILLE -- A Madison County judge is deciding whether a private detective went too far by identifying himself as a police detective.

Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli heard the last testimony and closing arguments Wednesday of a bench trial for 27-year-old Dustin Dahmer. He is accused of identifying himself as a police detective while he was working for Kellerman Investigations in Glen Carbon, a private detective agency that also serves court summonses on people.

Dahmer, of Bunker Hill, is accused of identifying himself as a Madison County sheriff's detective in May 2007: once by phone to a Godfrey woman and once in person to a man at his South Roxana home. Both times, Dahmer was trying to find someone who was to be served with court papers.

Dahmer's attorney, Andy Scharf, argued that Dahmer at most identified himself as a "detective in Madison County."

"Is that illegal? Is that impersonating a police officer?" Scharf said.

Assistant State's Attorney Susan Jensen argued that the two alleged victims felt something wasn't right, and became concerned.

"Why else would these people be calling in?" she said.

Jensen said Dahmer has aspirations of being a police officer, and went too far. She said serving court papers isn't always pleasant, but neither of the two alleged victims was an intended recipient of court papers...

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Private detective on trial for posing as cop in Madison County

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Private eye flat out as recession bites

Celia Williams - 29 Jan 2009

From part time to full time in just four months.

As many local companies face downturns, business is booming for Queenstown’s Michael Erwin – Central Otago’s only private eye and debt chaser.

The number of people targeted by Erwin is set to increase even further as the recession bites deeper.

Erwin took over Southern Lakes Investigations last September – a part-time business owned by Kathryn Omond – but he’s already seen business triple since then.

With a background in security and a recently acquired diploma in financial services, specialising in “loss adjusting” for insurance companies, Erwin has added a few more dimensions to the now full-time operation.

Contrary to popular belief, life as a private investigator isn’t terribly exciting, says Erwin: “The bulk of the work we do is process-serving, which is [delivering] documents from lawyers and finance companies.

“Basically, if anybody owes you money that’s secured or unsecured and it’s going too far, you’ll engage a lawyer to send somebody a letter demanding the money they’re owed.”

He’s not a straight-out debt collector, however – he doesn’t directly take money off debtors he visits.

Yet Erwin has noticed a boom in this sort of work recently – stemming from local businesses “over-extending themselves” or falling over as a result of the economic downturn.

“That’s definitely got something to do with it and it’ll continue into this year – the full effects of [the global downturn] haven’t really come across yet...

Read the rest of the story here:
Private eye flat out as recession bites

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Lawmaker aims to give greater protections to process servers

Cronkite News Service - MICHELLE PRICE - January 29, 2009

PHOENIX — Walking away from a house where he'd served court documents informing a woman that her assets were being seized, Will Ballew heard the garage door open.

"And I thought to myself, `This isn't gonna be good,"' he said.

The woman's husband ran out with a broom and jabbed Ballew in the back, leaving him unharmed but reminding him once again that process servers often deal with angry people.

Ballew, a former correctional officer who runs Lone Star Process Service in Glendale, said he's had guns pulled on him several times, once by a man who going to lose $1,200.

"If you're gonna kill me, just don't make it over 1,200 bucks," Ballew told him. "I'd hate to have my tombstone say `I died for $1,200 dollars."'

Whether it's divorce, bankruptcy or criminal charges, nobody likes to be served with court papers, and a state lawmaker wants to give process servers a little more protection...

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Lawmaker aims to give greater protections to process servers

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Fraudulent Tickets Tossed in Tucson

CameraFRAUD.com - January 23, 2009

Over one thousand of American Traffic Solution’s photo fraud tickets will be dismissed in Tucson after it was revealed that the process server lied about their delivery.

If paid, the notices would have an estimated value of over $183,000.

Such breaches of justice and trust are becoming more the norm rather than the exception. In September, CameraFRAUD.com broke the story on a process server who used a racial slur while delivering a Redflex-generated notice. In December, the Phoenix New Times reported on a server who impersonated a UPS driver to deliver a notice, drawing the wrath and anger of UPS officials.

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FRAUDULENT TICKETS TOSSED IN TUCSON

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Radar citations unserved; cases may be dismissed

Arizona Daily Star By Kim Smith 01.23.2009

Nearly 150 people allegedly caught by city photo radar cameras will likely have their cases dismissed because a process server — who is now under investigation by the Tucson Police Department — may never have served them citations.

The number of dismissals may rise because another 864 people were allegedly served by the man, said Chris Hale, deputy City Court administrator.

He said an unknown number of them have requested court hearings to discuss their citations, which could result in more charges being dropped, particularly if they say they weren't served either.

The only citations automatically dismissed so far are those that have already resulted in default judgments against drivers who failed to appear, Hale said.

Over the last couple of weeks, Tucson City Court employees received more than a dozen complaints from people who received notices a default judgment had been filed against them when they had never received their photo enforcement citations, Chris Hale said.

An investigation revealed a process server employed by Hawkins and E-Z Messenger Legal Support Providers may have filed false affidavits indicating people had been served, Hale said.

In one case, the process server filed an affidavit saying he served a citation to one woman in person, but the address was a UPS store and the store was closed at the time listed on the affidavit, Hale said.

People caught speeding or running red lights on camera are mailed tickets and given 30 days to pay or contest them, or go to traffic school.

Read the rest of the story:
Radar citations unserved; cases may be dismissed

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Process server fired over unserved tickets

FRANCISCO MEDINA/Tucson Citizen
CARLI BROSSEAU - January 22, 2009

Process server fired over unserved tickets; 1,000 photo enforcement cases reviewed
Unserved tickets spur review of 1,000 photo enforcement cases.

About 1,000 photo traffic enforcement cases are under review by Tucson City Court after a process server allegedly filed false affidavits of service.

At least 14 people received letters informing them a City Court judge found them responsible for citations they were never served, said Christopher Hale, deputy court administrator.

Angry calls to the court led to the firing of the accused process server and a painstaking review of the 1,000 or so cases for which Michael Dimenstein supposedly served the paperwork, Hale said.

Dimenstein's actions are under investigation by Tucson police, who will weigh whether to press for criminal charges, spokesman Sgt. Fabian Pacheco said Thursday...

Read the rest of the story:
Process server fired over unserved tickets; 1,000 photo enforcement cases reviewed

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Businesses tighten belts to survive recession

Patrick Parkinson, Of the Record staff - 01/20/2009

Number of foreclosures in Park City area spiked last year

The economic recession could be driving up court filings and increasing mortgage foreclosures in Park City.

Foreclosures statewide last summer and fall increased 111 percent, according to state court statistics. The largest increases in foreclosures occurred in American Fork, Provo, West Jordan, St. George, Heber and Park City.

"If you go back over the last 15-20 years, whenever there's a downturn you generally see an increase in civil filings" said Daniel Becker, a state courts administrator.

There were 17 filings related to property liens and foreclosures in 3rd District Court at Silver Summit in 2007. In December, 40 related court filings had already occurred in Summit County in 2008, according to the statistics.

Meanwhile, businesses in Park City are also facing belt-tightening.

"We're up there every couple of weeks," process server Bob Reitz said. "We did a very high-end execution up in Park City not long ago, when one of the clothing stores had some problems."

Read the rest of the story:
Businesses tighten belts to survive recession

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Ex-deputy given deferred prosecution

Published: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
By NICHOLAS LEDDEN/The Daily Inter Lake

Assault-with-a-weapon charges filed against a former Flathead County Sheriff's deputy will be dismissed on the condition he remains law abiding for six months.

Patrick Brian Ward, 39, was fired from the Sheriff's Office in 2002 for the unwarranted use of lethal force, but his recent legal troubles stem from an unrelated incident.

Ward, who was accused of threatening to shoot a private civil process server delivering divorce papers, signed a deferred prosecution agreement last week with the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

According to court records, the process server knocked on the front door of Ward's Good Country Road home on the afternoon of May 7. After answering, Ward refused to accept the papers and closed the door in the process server's face...

Read the rest of the story:
Ex-deputy given deferred prosecution

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Sunday, January 18, 2009

Ed McMahan's Poodle Attacks Process Server

The Spoof UK - by Bureau
(This story is satire. It is entirely fictitious)

Dave Higdon, a process server says if you're going to try to kick Ed McMahon out of his house, you're going to have to get past his wife and crazed poodle first!

That's the painful lesson Higdon learned when he delivered legal papers to McMahon's Beverly Hills home as McMahan continues to battle financial ruin after a series of bad investments and process server Dave Higdon appeared on his doorstep in early January.

Ed's wife Pamela had answered the front door. "She had the dog by the collar, and it was barking and snarling at me," Higdon alleged in his statement.

"Then she just lets go of the 40-pound poodle's collar and he came right for me, sinking his teeth into my leg several times. I was terrified!"

Read the rest of the story:
Ed McMahan's Poodle Attacks Process Server

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Don't Smile for the Camera

American Spectator - Rachel Alexander

Traffic speed cameras are now used in 45 cities nationwide. Theoretically, bringing in revenue through speeding tickets instead of taxation while promoting public safety appears to be a win-win proposition. In reality, it just fuels more wasteful government spending.

In Arizona, speed camera revenues fund a new, optional, experimental government agency that only a few other states have tried, Clean Elections. Clean Elections provides public funding for politicians to run for office, and since it originated in 2000 has not resulted in "cleaner" elections. A 2003 study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) found no significant changes in Arizona and Maine, the two states that initially implemented it. Other studies found little impact or even a negative effect on lobbyist influence, incumbency, and the types of candidates who run for office...

Read the rest of the story:
Don't Smile for the Camera

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Deputies No Longer Serving Subpoenas

North County Times, CA - Teri Figueroa

Most people who need a subpoena served on someone they are suing can no longer have San Diego Sheriff's deputies do the job.

Blame it on the budget.

And get ready to pay more to hire a private firm.

As of Jan. 2, the Sheriff's Department stopped its long-running practice of serving most subpoenas and other court documents in civil cases for a small fee.

The change means that people who need papers served will have to turn to the phone book or the Internet to find process servers.

And that means paying more. A quick check on Monday revealed that some local companies charge in the neighborhood of $50.

Up until last week, anyone who needed papers served could pay $30 at the court counter to get a deputy to deliver the papers.

Easy, right? Across the county last year, more than 14,000 people used the service, which included delivering notices in small claims filings and evictions.

Joseph Click, a general partner of Relentless Process Service, said he expects a sharp increase in demand for process servers...

Read the rest of the story:
Deputies no longer serving subpoenas


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Friday, January 16, 2009

Sheriffs Stop Serving Legal Documents in San Diego

Best Syndication

In a stunning development that might signal the beginning of a trend in the United States, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department has ordered its Sheriffs to cease serving official court documents. Long a staple when it's come to serving papers such as cease and desist orders, eviction notices and writs, people will have to find different ways to have these important documents officially served, at least in San Diego County in California.

According to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department's official website: “Effective January 2, 2009, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department will discontinue service of all non-enforcement types of civil processes...

Read the rest of the story:
San Diego County First in Nation to Have Sheriffs Stop Serving Legal Documents


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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Complicated case changes hands

Gilroy Dispatch, CA - Sara Suddes

Judges in Santa Clara County are loath to touch a case with hundreds of pages of evidence, dozens of victims and four defendants - one of whom has opted to represent himself against a litany of charges.

Vincent Cardinalli, Sr., 65, his son Paul Greer, 31 - formerly Vincent Cardinalli, Jr. - Greer's sister Rosemary Ball and her husband Michael Ball face 169 counts of conspiracy, perjury, forgery, attempted grand theft and other felony charges stemming from hundreds of lawsuits filed by Cardinalli and Greer in hopes of collecting towing and storage fees for their now defunct towing businesses.

Half a dozen judges have passed the case like a hot potato and the most recent delay was brought on when attorneys convened Wednesday to set a date for a preliminary hearing and Superior Court Judge David Cena continued the case, in part because Cardinalli's motion for advisory counsel will be heard by another judge Jan. 27.

Read the rest of the story:
Complicated case changes hands

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Process Server on Chief Justice Roberts: ‘Definitely a Gentleman’

The BLT, DCThere was no clandestine surveillance, no hiding behind bushes or in a parked car.

Daniel Portnoy says he walked up the driveway and knocked on the front door. The homeowner opened the door.

Portnoy and the man chatted for a minute and parted ways. Mission accomplished. Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. accepted service of a U.S. District Court summons at home, Portnoy says.

“Obviously this guy was outstanding. He could have quoted legal scripture to me for a week and a half,” Portnoy recalls of his trip to the Roberts home in Chevy Chase, Md., the night of Jan. 4 about 8 p.m. “He was very respectful in a situation where he didn’t have to be.”

Read the rest of the story:
Process Server on Chief Justice Roberts: ‘Definitely a Gentleman’

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Saturday, January 3, 2009

Foreclosures mounting

London Free Press - Jonathon Sher

With the economy limping, London process servers have been racing to keep up with a slew of foreclosures, the likes of which they haven't seen since the early 1980s.

"It's unfortunate that when times are bad, we are busy," Doug Russell of London and Western Ontario Process Servers said yesterday.

Russell has served notices of foreclosure in London since 1983, first as a deputy sheriff and later for his own firm.

Back then, the culprit was interest rates that soared toward 20 per cent. But now foreclosures seem driven by an unemployment rate that's grown to 6.9 per cent, with thousands of manufacturing job losses in the region alone.

Another process server, Bill Armstrong, estimates the number of foreclosure notices he's delivered has more than tripled in the last year.

"I've never been this busy and I've been in the business 20 years," he said.

Read the rest of the story:
Foreclosures mounting

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Friday, January 2, 2009

Trial transcript reveals court costs, son's book

Modesto Bee, Washington Bureau - Michael Doyle

WASHINGTON -- Former Modesto-area Rep. Gary Condit can be hard to pin down, a newly released trial transcript shows.

Condit's periodic elusiveness is one of many tidbits in the transcript from a civil trial that could cost the Condit family more than $100,000. The Condits owe the money to Baskin-Robbins for damages and attorneys' fees for a franchise deal gone sour.

"If you think Baskin-Robbins have expensive prices for their ice cream, you wait until you start paying somebody else's attorney fees, Mr. Condit," U.S. District Judge Earl H. Carroll advised Condit's son Chad during the trial. "And you're going to find out what it is."

Read the rest of the story:
Trial transcript reveals court costs, son's book

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