How Court Papers and Documents are Served

It is a fundamental principal of justice that a party is entitled to know the nature of the case against him. Further, whenever a party on either side of proceedings intends to rely on a document as part of their case it is almost inevitable that the other side will be entitled to see it. Service describes the process of sending or delivering documents to a party in court proceedings.

Service Under the Civil Procedure Rules

Part 6 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) sets out the modern approach to service of court documents. Although special rules apply to some specific documents - for example bankruptcy petitions – most documents are now served by sending them to a party by ordinary pre-paid post. Service is said to be “good” if it complies with the rules.

Methods of Service

The CPR sets out the various methods of service that can be used. The usual method of service is by first class post. Other methods of service which may be used include:

• Personal service – where a document is physically handed to the party. If the party is a limited company or a corporation the document can be handed to a person who has as a senior position in the organisation.
• Leaving the document at the correct address.
• Fax, email or document exchange – a party may have to consent to service by these methods.

The Deemed Date of Service

The CPR sets out the date on which a document is deemed to have been served, according to the method of service used. This is the relevant date for the purposes of court proceedings, not the date on which it was sent. This may be crucial in cases where there are strict time limits for the service of a particular document. It is irrelevant if the document in fact arrived after or before the date of deemed service.

The deemed dates for service are as follows:

• Personal service – the day it was handed to the party unless it was given to them after 5 pm in which case it is the following day.
• First class post – the second day after it was posted.
• Leaving a document at the correct address – the day after it was left at the address.
• Fax – the same day if sent before 4 pm on a business day. If sent later, the business day after it was sent.
• Email – the second day after it was sent.

The “Irrebutable Presumption” of Service

It can be difficult for parties to litigation to understand that, in legal terms, service is not the same as delivery or receipt. A claim form is deemed to have been served on a defendant even if it has been returned to the court marked undelivered – provided that it was sent to the last known or usual address of the defendant. The claim form is even deemed to have been served if the claimant knows that the defendant has left that address – unless they know the defendant’s new address.

This rule is so strict that there is nothing the defendant can do to rebut it even if they have conclusive proof that they never received the document. There is even case law that says that service was still good where a document was sent to a property which had previously been destroyed.

The Correct Address for Service

For service to be good it must have been sent to the correct address. This will depend on the nature of the party to be served. The correct address where the party is:

• an Individual – their usual or last known residence;
• an Individual who runs a business or operates under a trading name – their usual or last known residence OR their (last known) place of business;
• a Limited Company – the registered office of the company OR any place of business which is connected to the claim;
• a Corporation - the registered office of the corporation OR any place where the corporation conducts its activities which has a connection to the claim.

Service on a Party’s Solicitor

If a party has a solicitor acting for him and that solicitor is “on the record” or has agreed to accept service, documents should be served by sending them to the solicitor. A solicitor goes on the record by lodging at court a formal statement that they are acting for the party in relation to the case.

Service Out of the Jurisdiction

The basic assumption behind all the rules of service is that the party to be served is within the jurisdiction. If a party to be served is not within the jurisdiction the court’s permission may well have to be obtained before court documents can be served on them.