What is the civil summons process?? How long does the deputy have to deliver the summons.? We hired a contractor to do a job and he didn't return to finish the job after receiving a draw. This is SC (( Columbia )) If our addresses turn up negative for delivery from the deputy what is the next step? When do the police use their vast info system to find the contractor?? I provided the contractors drivers license number that was provided on the cancelled checks he got from us, do the police use the info or is the normal citizen suppose to pull the correct address from "thin air"??

Hello Ace:

You got it. The cops are not there to help you.

excon

On a civil case, no, you can in court ask for a court order to have the NCIC and driving record given in discovery of evidence, The judge may or may not allow it.

But you are expecting way too much in a civil court trial.

First if you find him, he may not show up, and if he don't show up, you can still win the case,

The big issue is after you win, how do you get your money.. The court merely issues a court order that says they are suppose to pay,

After you win the case, you on your own still has to find his money and then go back and get attachments or garnishments.

The court is not going to do any of the legwork yourself.

I suggest you send an address verification request to the "Postmaster" of the town where the defendant lives. Your local post office should have the form for you to complete - under the Federal Freedom of Information Act. You will need to supply the names of the parties to the lawsuit, the docket number, the name of the court where filed, and verification that you need the information for service of legal process. They usually respond fairly quickly, and will advise that the address is "good as addressed" or "forwarding order expired" or "mail being forwarded to ..." or "unknown at this address." If you get a new address, you will need to advise the sheriff. If you get "good as addressed" and the sheriff/constable cannot serve the defendant, you will need to go to the judge, and ask permission for "alternative service" for a defendant attempting to evade service of process. A judge will possibly allow you to serve via regular mail, or posting at the address, or publishing in a newspaper, or will order you to send the sheriff/constable again, maybe at unusual times. You might consider investigating the defendant's current employment, and serve him there. Good luck.

First, as noted, cops are there for criminal issues, NOT civil ones. Second, getting a judgement against someone is only half the battle. YOU then need to collect the judgement. To do that, YOU need to find some assets that you can seize.

But there is one other avenue you might explore. Many areas require contractors to have licenses. They may even require them to have insurance or be bonded. You can try checking with your locality to see if this helps you.

For future reference, if there is a licensing requirement in your area, then only do business with licensed contractors. Ask them for a statement of insurance. If there isn't a licensing requirement then you may want to talk to your homeowner insurance company about a temporary rider to protect you. You can then negotiate the cost of that into the contract.

The Subject Matter Experts, (SME) that have posted to my question have been great. Didn't realize the availability of such question and answer. I have printed all the answers and those that have been of value will get a "Thanks to this Member". Special thanks to steveinpa and scottgem for their gleam of info at the moment. Does seem like a long and tedious process though, have I missed "the boat" somewhere, or is it always this long??

Greatly appreciate all your info. I really don't mind the legwork, question is where to point my legs at.? How do I locate public info for "garnishments".? Your answers make me ask more questions. I'm need to know where to look to find the answers to your very informative answers or are they more questions.? Thanks for your input -- Ace

The place to start would be in the county or town clerk's office or the dept of buildings. Also check if your town, city, county has an ombudsman or consumer affairs office. One of those places should be able to point you to licensing bureaus.

One way of getting the police involved is if you paid this guy a significant amount of money and he scammed you. This becomes fraud, which is a criminal offense.

There is really a load of public info on the WEB if you just search. Typing garnishment into google.com will get you a load of info. You will need to sift through it. Most localities have WEB sites, so entering localityname.gov may find its site. Or you can start at yourstate.gov and see if you can connect to it from there. I just googled columbia sc and found this site:
http://www.columbiasc.net/
Poke around there and see what you can find.

"One way of getting the police involved is if you paid this guy a significant amount of money and he scammed you. This becomes fraud, which is a criminal offense. " I called the police and they just told me to file a civil complaint, which is where I'm at now. A person on the street can be robbed of $50 and they send the police to track him down, I get scammed of over $4000 and get no help from them. I will do some more research on the net. Thanks for more ideas. Ace

Without knowing the full circumstances its hard to say whether this was a matter of criminal fraud or a civil matter.

Thanks ScottGem

A few more thoughts. Explore filing a Criminal Fraud complaint. I understand that the police told you to file a Civil Complaint. I am not sure of local procedure there. You might inquire at the Office of the District Attorney/Prosecutor (usually a county office). Ask about filing a Private Criminal Complaint (the label used in PA, maybe called something different in your state). If they accept it, then they will prosecute the criminal charges (hopefully get the guy's attention), and you will need to cooperate, have documentation available (canceled checks, contract, pictures, etc), and the judge hopefully will be convinced and award restitution (where the county/state will collect the money and pass it on to you). If you cannot proceed with a Private Criminal Complaint, then you will have to file a Civil Complaint. You might look for a legal clinic, or an advertisement for a local lawyer where you get reduced legal fees, to explore the possibility of other relief. For example, PA has a Consumer Fraud Statute, where if fraud is proven, the victim can get awarded treble damages (you would get your $4k, plus more, up to $12k total). Again, I do not know local law there, and you should talk to a lawyer before you file (it is easier to file properly first, not have to amend a complaint later). As far as finding the guy, after you file a Complaint, you have more access to resources than the Federal Freedom Of Information I advised earlier. Once you file, you have a Caption and Docket Number, meaning you can now issue a Subpoena on the Depart. Of Motor Vehicles to get copies of the guy's Drivers' License and Vehicle Registration data. I think consumers do not realize how tedious and frustrating the process can be. A word of caution though, you might go through all of this, go to court, get a judgment, and if the guy is "judgment proof", you will get no money. Some small businessmen (many contractors) have no bank account or real estate, and the process to take possession of a vehicle is not easy. Be very careful in the future. Some consumers will only deal with contractors who are "bonded" and have a positive rating with the BBB (Better Business Bureau). Another idea is to check the local dockets to see if others have sued this guy before. There may be a long line of judgments against him. You might then conclude it is not worth it to proceed. For a $4k claim, you really should talk to a local lawyer - many will offer an initial consultation for no charge. Good luck.

Hi Steve,
"Explore filing a Criminal Fraud complaint" Appreciate your input. The lawyer I saw a few days ago is going over the paperwork now. And actually did mention something about the Criminal aspect of this. I will have to wait and see what they decide here in SC. Hopefully, next week I will hear back from them. I will have to check into the Consumer Fraud Statue. I did file with the BBB but they haven't even sent me a response yet themselves. I did take my info to the lawyer: photos, contract, cancelled check etc. I'll try to keep you posted. Greatly appreciate all the info ---- Ace