A notice left at front door for Certified Letter

[cmo140]

I am in PA and there was a notice left for a certified letter from a District Judge. Is it since I was not served which I believe you have to in PA by a sheriff that I can get the Judgment dismissed.

[Amerikaner83]

wait a second here.

Is there a judgement against you already? Or are you thinking that you could get a potential judgement against you dismissed because of the certified letter?

First of all - certified letters ARE a legal way to serve someone in many states - check your state laws and BE SURE. None of this "which i believe you have to ...". Find out for sure.

[notagain]

There's a thread here with a link to the civil procedures in your state. Read the part about service and let us know what it says.

notagain

[cmo140]

Where is the link about the states procedures?

[DebtLawRookie]

This may help as far as state debt laws are concerned:

http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/

[merrybucks]

This might help

Rule 403. Service by Mail

If a rule of civil procedure authorizes original process to be served by mail, a copy of the process shall be mailed to the defendant by any form of mail requiring a receipt signed by the defendant or his authorized agent. Service is complete upon delivery of the mail.

(1) If the mail is returned with notation by the postal authorities

that the defendant refused to accept the mail, the plaintiff shall have

the right of service by mailing a copy to the defendant at the same

address by ordinary mail with the return address of the sender

appearing thereon. Service by ordinary mail is complete if the mail is

not returned to the sender within fifteen days after mailing.

(2) If the mail is returned with notation by the postal authorities

that it was unclaimed, the plaintiff shall make service by another

means pursuant to these rules.

Note: The United States Postal Service provides for restricted

delivery mail, which can only be delivered to the addressee or his

authorized agent. Rule 403 has been drafted to accommodate the

Postal Service procedures with respect to restricted delivery

[cmo140]

This might help

Rule 403. Service by Mail

If a rule of civil procedure authorizes original process to be served by mail, a copy of the process shall be mailed to the defendant by any form of mail requiring a receipt signed by the defendant or his authorized agent. Service is complete upon delivery of the mail.

(1) If the mail is returned with notation by the postal authorities

that the defendant refused to accept the mail, the plaintiff shall have

the right of service by mailing a copy to the defendant at the same

address by ordinary mail with the return address of the sender

appearing thereon. Service by ordinary mail is complete if the mail is

not returned to the sender within fifteen days after mailing.

(2) If the mail is returned with notation by the postal authorities

that it was unclaimed, the plaintiff shall make service by another

means pursuant to these rules.

Note: The United States Postal Service provides for restricted

delivery mail, which can only be delivered to the addressee or his

authorized agent. Rule 403 has been drafted to accommodate the

Postal Service procedures with respect to restricted delivery

I am not going to pick it up at the post office, So from what I understand, I have to be served to make it stick.

Also what happens if they get a judgment and they never served me?

[merrybucks]

My understanding is that you would just be prolonging receipt. They will just send it regular mail and after 15 days you will be considered served.

[cmo140]

My understanding is that you would just be prolonging receipt. They will just send it regular mail and after 15 days you will be considered served.

That can't be right , why send it certified or have someone serve it. Mail gets lost all the time.

People would just send it regular mail all the time.

[merrybucks]

Reread Rule 403 sec. 1.

[cmo140]

My understanding is that you would just be prolonging receipt. They will just send it regular mail and after 15 days you will be considered served.

I did and in my post I said I was left a notice, I did not take it, I was not home when they came so I was not served or denied it.

[merrybucks]

I think the wording of section 2 would allow them the same form of service as section 1. You may want to contact the court to find out.

[OMGWhatHaveIdone]

This might help

Rule 403. Service by Mail

(2) If the mail is returned with notation by the postal authorities

that it was unclaimed, the plaintiff shall make service by another

means pursuant to these rules.

I too, live in PA. If you don't sign for the mail, then it gets sent by regular mail. If it comes back as undeliverable, they WILL send someone to your house in a normal looking car and you will get served that way. It's happened to me before. I would just sign for the letter and deal with the responsibility that comes with what is inside. You didn't say what the certified letter was about, only that it was from a judges office. It could be for a number of things. But you won't know unless you open it.

I had a speeding ticket that I completely forgot about. I also had fines that I was paying on for a prior speeding ticket. Since I always mailed my monthly payment to the Judges office, they would mail me back a receipt. I didn't open them because I knew what they were. Unfortunately, I got a letter from the judge's office that I got the latest speeding ticket in (not the same district court as the one I was paying the fines on). I opened it and low and behold, it was a warrant because I refused to answer for the ticket ten days after I got it, and it was now over a month old. Apparently they sent out a letter to me and I ignored it. So they sent the warrant to me. Thankfully, I've made payment arrangements on that ticket, but you never know what could happen if you don't answer to a letter from the district judge's office.

So, yes, unless you absolutely know what the letter is pertaining to, your best bet would just be to sign for it and call the judges office. The clerks can help you.