Server's Corner

What to do When Served a Summons or Subpoena

There are a lot of different things that we dread in life and someone in a suit walking up to us with a folded piece of paper in their hand is certainly one of them. When you get a summon or a subpoena it can seem like a whirlwind just hit and you have no idea what to do. The question remains then, what should you do? Well it depends on the piece of paper that you just got handed. Roland Investigations is your professional process server company. Being the third party that is only there to serve papers we want to help you to understand what these two-different pieces of papers mean for you and what the next step is after you receive them.

Subpoena

There is a little more room to breathe with a subpoena because you’re not getting a lawsuit filed against you. When you are subpoenaed you are basically being required to provide information for a court case or to testify as a witness. This could be for either the defendant or the plaintiff. On the document itself it will show what is required of you to respond. There are different actions that you may need to take depending on what the document is requiring of you. You either need to send in the required information or appear on the required day. The document will include where you need to appear or where you need to submit the information.

Summon

There might be a little bit of a heart attack when you receive the paper and see that you have been summoned. This means that a civil lawsuit has been filed against you. Instead of just showing up to give a testimony you are the second half of the case, respectably the defendant. The piece of paper requires you to appear in court to defend your case. When you are handed the piece of paper it will tell you the amount of time you have to reply as well as how you are being required to respond. If one fails to respond accordingly then a default judgement will be given to the side who files, the lawsuit.

There are always a lot of emotions that run through one’s mind when they receive that piece of paper. However, there is no need to panic. Identify which paper you are being handed and if you are being sued then you need to figure out if you need an attorney and when you need to respond by. So just take a deep breath and follow the instructions given on the paper. Always remember that the people who serve you the papers have nothing to do with the contents inside and that they are just a third party doing their job. Roland Investigations wants to help everyone understand what the papers mean and the action that is required from the individual being served.

By James D. Roland 4-11-2018