IF THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT SERVED - Illinois Legal Aid

IF THE DEFENDANT WAS NOT SERVED

What happens if the defendant could not be served by your court date? This video is designed to help plaintiffs when the defendant could not be served.

You must go to court on your scheduled court date, even if the defendant has not been served. If you do not appear on your court date, your case may be dismissed by the judge. If the defendant has not been served by your court date, you will need to try again. Your first attempt at serving the defendant may not be successful for many reasons such as:

No one was home when the sheriff tried to serve the defendant The wrong address was given No one was home to sign for certified mail by the postal carrier, or The defendant avoided being served with court papers

Even though attempting to serve the defendant may be frustrating, don't give up. Your case will not be able to move forward until this important step has been completed successfully.

ALIAS SUMMONS

If the defendant has not been served by your court date, the judge will continue your case for to give more time for service to be tried again. You will need to complete an "alias summons" to serve the defendant. A summons is court form that tells the defendant when and where to come to court. An alias summons is just the name for an summons when the defendant could not be served the first time.

To serve the defendant with an alias summons, you will follow the same steps as you did with the sheriff's office or the clerk's office.

SPECIAL PROCESS SERVER

If serving the defendant is particularly difficult, you may ask the court to allow you to use a special process server to hand-deliver the complaint to the defendant. A special process server can be a friend or a relative that is over 18. However, the special process server cannot be an immediate family member or a witness in the case. You can also pay a special investigator to be a special process server. The judge must approve the special process server before they try to serve the defendant. Once the defendant is served, the special process server will fill out an affidavit swearing that the court papers were received.

GETTING HELP

If you need help filling out your court papers you can visit the Pro Se Court help desk. The Pro Se Court help desk can answer basic questions about how to fill out your court papers. The help desk however is not staffed by lawyers and cannot give you legal advice.

ATTEND YOUR COURT DAY

It is important for you to appear at each of your court dates. If you do not come to court, the judge will dismiss your case and you will have to start your case over again. You can learn more about going to court on this website.

We hope this video helped you better understand the Pro Se Court at the Daley Center in Cook County, Illinois. More information about going to court can be found on this website.

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