PLEASE HELP! I have been in a dispute with this roofing contractor for two years now. I really regret not taking him to court when I knew where he lived. He has since moved. I reported him to the state for bad workmanship. They don't seem to have trouble sending him mail at his new address. I filed papers with the court certified mail and low and behold, the letter was sent back "moved, left no forwarding" This is funny since he receives stuff from the state through the mail at this address. I do have his cell phone number. I just need to know how I am going to find this person. He is avoiding me. Any suggestions will help. I did hire a process server, but I am not sure how that will work out. Thanks for your suggestions.

Look up Process server in your local Yellow pages. Often there is a sheriff's office in the county that takes on that work.

Scott,

I already have a process server hired. I just wanted to know if she would have the means to find him. He apparently is quite good at avoiding everyone. Any other suggestions? Thanks again!

If the process server can't find where to serve them, you may need a PI.

A lot of PI's do process serving, I worked for one part time when I was a police officer doing process serving,

They knock on doors, talk to people who know them, pretend to be pizza delivery people, and more.

In addition to the many good suggestions already put forward here are our 2 cents on the topic.

If you are certain he still receives mail from the address on record with the state then perhaps he deliberately refused delivery of your certified mail. Because certified or registered mail is often used to send legal documents some professional deadbeats will look at the return address first before they decide if they want to accept delivery.

If he still has an active telephone number you could always have a friend call him for a written estimate. One would hope that any such estimate would list his business address.

If he is required to have a license with your municipality or a trade association they might have an address for him as well.

Lastly, you could check with your local small claims court and higher court to see if he has been involved in any litigation recently. If so, one would expect to see an address for service (there may be a fee to view any such court files).

What I am thinking is that the person at this address "sorts" his mail for him since this address is that of his in-laws. I did some investigating on my own. The last time the state sent him a letter was back in November. I sent him one BEFORE that date in September to notify him of a recent roofers estimate. It was sent back to me as "moved, no forwarding" which proves that he is having someone sort his mail and delivering it to his house wherever that may be. He is avoiding me because of obvious reasons. I just don't know what to do in this matter. Thanks! Any other suggestions?

Hello Greg:

Send an empty envelope 1st class. Write on the envelope "address correction requested". Something may come back – you never know.

Plus, you may not have to find him to effect service. Ask the clerk of the small claims court whether service by publication is considered legal service in that jurisdiction. It should be. Generally speaking, you'll have to publish the summons for about three weeks. You probably have a legal notice type of newspaper in your city. That's where you should publish it.

After you've obtained legal service, you can get a default judgment. Now, of course, if you can't find him OR any of his assets (bank account, property, etc.), the judgment isn't going to do you much good, either.

excon

Thanks excon,

I asked the PO that question before and all they would do is forward it to the address on file. I will try the publishing thing after the process server attempts to serve him. I am dead set on finding him one way or the other. Keep the suggestions coming everyone. I won't leave a stone unturned! I wanted to call him, but I was scared of harassment besides I don't want to scare him away. What to do, what to do? I am dumdfounded. It feels like my hands are tied. Thank you everyone so much!

Thanks excon,

I asked the PO that question before and all they would do is forward it to the address on file. Hello again, Greg:

I don't think you asked the PO about THIS particular notification.

Yes, you're right. They will forward your empty envelope. But with the above notation on the envelope, they'll ALSO send you back notice WHERE they sent it. Next time you get a letter from your insurance company (or anybody who absolutely wants to know where you live), I promise you, you'll see that particular notation on the envelope.

excon

Also what we did was to have someone not related, mail a check for 5 or 10 dollars with a note for what I owed you. It gets forwarded by someone in the home or received ( shows he gets legal mail there) next when he cashes it, you know what bank they bank at and account number ( some place to use for an attachment latter) and what city they are near.

In that if legal service was tried at the other address and it is proved he receives mail there, a lot of legal service is allowed just though their refusal of it, or by attempts to that house proved to be hiding him.
( legal service varies by the type of suit and the state law)