By Jennifer Workman, Esq.
CNN recently reported that a New York woman was allowed by the Court to serve her estranged husband through Facebook. Ms. Ellanora Arthur Baidoo attempted to serve her husband for years unsuccessfully. In Colorado, the prominent method in which one is served is through personal service by using a process server or sheriff. However, in situations in which one is unable to personally serve someone through personal service, a court may allow service through publication wherein one must publish the notice of service in a newspaper within the county in which the person previously resided.
The problem with avoiding service is that once service by publication is allowed, service has been made and if you don’t see that publication, you will not know when a hearing is and could lose the lawsuit by default. Publication through social media, specifically Facebook, allows one to actually view the service and know when a hearing is scheduled. Further, the individual performing the service can prove that the servee checked their Facebook, posted pictures, or sent a message and therefore received the service. Using Facebook or other methods of social media service in the future will more than likely become a reality because it protects both parties, and therefore, will be preferred by many courts.
Please contact the Domestic Group at Cantafio and Song, PLLC for all of your divorce and family law needs.
To review the CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/06/us/divorce-papers-facebook/index.html