Day 2-30 - Complaint Served

Varies, but usually within 30 days of starting the lawsuit the plaintiff’s attorney will “serve” the defendant(s) with a copy of the complaint. Service usually involves having a 3rd party process server hand deliver a copy of the complaint directly to each defendant. Most people are familiar with this type of service from watching movies, where a process server usually comes up to the person and says, “You have been served.”

Two other methods of service is to “sub-serve” a defendant as well as mailing the complaint to the defendant. Each of these types of service of the complaint have their own additional requirements and can affect how much time the defendant(s) have to respond to the complaint.

In most business lawsuits, there is little benefit from avoiding service.  Additionally, most businesses can be served by delivering a copy of the complaint to the person in charge of the business at their business location.