SIMMONS & FLETCHER DISCUSSES THE PROPOSED SERVICE OF PROCESS
Paul H. Cannon, of Simmons & Fletcher, is always watchful for trends that may affect his clients, and he has become aware of a new bill in Texas that could allow social media sites as a means of service for legal process.
"Representative Jeff Leach has introduced House Bill 1989 that could allow the state or a plaintiff to serve a defendant notice of a lawsuit on Facebook, Twitter, and others sites, and have it be legally binding," Cannon said.
"The very purpose of our system requiring person al service is to ensure that the individual has notice of the claims being brought against them, so they are not deprived of property or rights without due process," Cannon added. "While the language of the bill attempts to safeguard this by placing a burden upon the person seeking service to prove that the page belongs to, and is used by the defendant, the reality is that one cannot truly prove this without bringing the page owner into court-in which case, you could serve them in person."
For the rest of the Simmons & Fletcher article click here.
For the full language of the proposed bill, click here.
