Baltimore & Towson Lawyer Discusses Service of Process and Facebook
From both a business and personal standpoint, social media plays a major role in the lives of thousands of people. As sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube become more popular, the legal community is starting to realize social media can be used for more than just chatting with friends and keeping up with what is going on with Hollywood celebrities.
Our Baltimore and Towson family law attorneys understand that more and more legal professionals throughout the country are realizing websites like Facebook are becoming progressively more important to the practice of law.
A Process Server Could Be Poking You
The New York Post reports that, in a first-of-its-kind case in Staten Island, New York, a support magistrate recently ordered that a man who was trying to cancel court-ordered child support because his son had turned 21 years of age could serve the son's mother through her social media account.
The court's finding was simple. The support magistrate found that because the traditional methods of service were not working for the father, and it was clear that the mother was active on social media, the father could use Facebook to serve the mother. The magistrate noted that it was "impracticable" for the father to personally serve the mother through someone at her job or home because the mother had moved without leaving a forwarding address.
Some in the legal community have made it clear they agree with the magistrate's ruling, noting in this day and age, it is simply archaic to think that physically delivering a document to someone is the only way to serve the individual. More states are starting to agree with the use of social media for the purpose of serving in certain instances.
Developments in the Use of Social Media in Litigation
In 2013, a number of courts were faced with some sort of social media issue with respect to its use in litigation. For example, some government agencies and courts are allowing parties to use social media sites to comply with federal civil procedure obligations. In FTC v. PCCare247 Inc., 2013 WL 841037(S.D.N.Y Mar. 7, 2013), the federal judge found a party could serve legal documents on the opposing party by Facebook and other methods combined.
Serving documents through Facebook and other social media sites may prove to be beneficial to attorneys who are dealing with opposing parties who may be difficult to contact via traditional ways. Still, as your Baltimore and Towson family law attorney will tell you, even with the endorsement of some courts using social media as a means to effectuate service on individuals, the question still remains in a number of states as to whether or not a party can use social media as the only means of service.
If you are interested in using social media to reach an opposing party in your case, contact a Baltimore and Towson family law attorney at the Law Offices of Amar Weisman, LLC today to learn more about your legal options.
Call (410) 321-4994 For a Free Consultation
Call The Law Offices of Amar S. Weisman at (410) 321-4994 to schedule a Free Consultation. The Purpose of the consultation is to determine whether you want to retain this law firm as your Baltimore County & Harford County Family Lawyer. If you do wish to proceed, then you must pay a retainer. See Our Policy on Fees and Costs. The family firm is located next to The Circuit Court for Baltimore County, at 1018 Dulaney Valley Road, Towson, MD 21204.
