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The
law usually requires that notice be provided to persons
potentially affected by a lawsuit, so they have the
option to appear in front of the court before a final
decision is made about the issue. The specific notice
requirements may vary, depending on the type of action
that is being filed. In most cases, the law requires
the person filing an action with the court to cause
notice of that action to be “personally served”on
the other party. Usually this means making a “true
copy” (exact and complete copy) of the claim,
complaint, motion or petition filed in court, and
having it delivered directly to the other party, along
with a summons, setting forth the deadline for a response,
and the consequences of failure to respond. If personal
service is not possible, substitute service, office
service and service by mail may also be sufficient.
These options are spelled out in more detail along
with the general rules for service of summons in the
Oregon
Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 7.
There are also circumstances in which the law requires
“public notice” be given, through posting
or publishing in a local newspaper. This usually happens
when there is not a specific person impacted by the
court’s action, such as a person requesting
a name change.
After the other party responds to a complaint or a
petition, the law generally requires both parties
to provide copies of correspondence or pleadings they
file with the court to the other party, and to file
proof that proper notice was given, with the court.
This gives each party a chance to provide input to
the judge before any decision is made. The general
rules for this requirement can be found in the Oregon
Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 9.
The most common way of serving another party is to
pay a private process server or local sheriff’s
office to serve the papers for you. The cost is around
$30, but may vary according to the location of the
other party. It is your responsibility to make sure
a proof of service, a form documenting how service
was actually made on the other party, is filed with
the court. If you hire someone to complete service,
they usually file this document for you. The court
will not grant relief in your case until the other
party has been legally served.
Serving the papers yourself is not usually allowed
by law, and may not always be safe. If you choose
not to hire a process server or the sheriff’s
office, the general rule is that any competent person
18 years of age or older who is a resident of the
state where service is made or of Oregon, and is not
a party to the case, nor an officer, director, or
employee of, nor attorney for any party, may complete
service. Caution should be used before asking a friend
or relative to serve the papers if the other party
might react angrily or violently.
If the other party can not be located, you may file
a written request with the court to allow another
method of service, such as publishing of summons,
posting at specified locations, or mailing to a post
office box. The court will decide if all avenues to
locate the other party have been exhausted before
granting an order to allow another method of service.
If the law requires or allows notice to be published
in a newspaper, the court may direct notice be published
in a particular one, or may just require it be published
in a newspaper of general circulation.
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