Once a lawsuit is filed, the defendant must be served with the summons and complaint so he or she can prepare a defense and respond appropriately. In addition, both sides have an obligation to serve the other with pleadings filed throughout the life of the case. In family law cases, most parties know the contact information for their likely now insignificant other – addresses, phone numbers, emails and usually a sprinkling of family members’ contact information too.
Occasionally the other side may be a real Houdini and disappear, making it difficult to serve the required pleadings and provide notice. Michigan Court Rules (MCR) 2.105, 2.106 and 2.107 provide information and options for serving a dodgy defendant or private plaintiff. Like most things in law, you need permission before you can serve someone by alternate means.
You can use SCAO form MC 303 to explain why you can’t effect service the ordinary way of personal service or mail. Your motion should tell the court what you have done to ascertain the opposing party’s current contact information, including verification by a process server if applicable. If the court believes you’ve made a real effort to locate and serve the other side without success, request for alternate service may be granted.
Alternate service can include tacking paperwork to a door, delivering at a specific address where it is believed a member of the household is old enough to accept the process, email, messaging apps, and publication in a paper, usually one that is local to the area the opposing party last lived, and for multiple weeks in a row. Posting the order at the courthouse and two or more public places may also be required. The nitty gritty of what’s required for alternate service is spelled out in the MCR, and ultimately the court will set forth the requirements for your case. You are still required to provide proof of service for the court file to verify that the alternate service was executed.
Alternate service is not perfect, and it is likely that the opposing party may not see the paperwork because they aren’t looking for it, fail to check messages regularly or don’t frequent the location where the posting is placed. Like much else in the legal system, you can only do so much when your options are limited. If the other side decides to play hide and seek, look for alternative relief in the court rules.
