Summons Served and Return Filed Sixteen Days Ago

N

Nasheayahu

Member
Jurisdiction
New Mexico
On May 30th of 2024 the attorney representing the defended sends me a threaten letter, on June 28th of 2024 I filed a lawsuit against said contents and the summons was served and received by the attorney on July 3rd of 2024, and I filed the Return with the Court on this day as well. Now June 16th of 2024 the attorney sent me a vague letter stating they do not have authority to accept summons and complaint on behalf of the defendant.

My question is,
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
2. I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
 
Nasheayahu said:
On May 30th of 2024 the attorney representing the defended sends me a threaten letter, on June 28th of 2024 I filed a lawsuit against said contents and the summons was served and received by the attorney on July 3rd of 2024, and I filed the Return with the Court on this day as well. Now June 16th of 2024 the attorney sent me a vague letter stating they do not have authority to accept summons and complaint on behalf of the defendant.

My question is,
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
2. I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
Click to expand...
Why do you believe the attorney had any duty to inform you at all?
You will need to properly serve the other party within the appropriate time frame.
 
Nasheayahu said:
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
Click to expand...
Only the attorney HIMSELF/HERSELF can answer that question.
Nasheayahu said:
2. I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
Click to expand...
If you wish to avoid having the lawsuit DISMISSED, you'll need to serve the defendant as required under the rules for NM Courts!

=============================

The link below describes how to effect proper service. I suggest you do your research, or hire yourself an attorney to make sure you properly serve the defendant. Otherwise, forget the lawsuit and continue living your best life.


 
Nasheayahu said:
On May 30th of 2024 the attorney representing the defend[ant] [sent] me a threaten[ing] letter
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Threatening you about what? What was threatening about it?


Nasheayahu said:
on June 28th of 2024 I filed a lawsuit against said contents
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What does "a lawsuit against said contents" mean? Are you represented by an attorney in this lawsuit? I'm guessing not.


Nasheayahu said:
the summons was served and received by the attorney on July 3rd of 2024
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"Served and received by the attorney"? I think what you're saying is that you attempted to effect service on the defendant by delivering the summons and complaint to the defendant's attorney. Correct?


Nasheayahu said:
Now June 16th of 2024 the attorney sent me a vague letter stating they do not have authority to accept summons and complaint on behalf of the defendant.
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I assume "June" is a typo and that you meant "July 16." Correct? Is the letter dated 7/16/24, or does it have an earlier date, but you received it today?

How is the letter vague?


Nasheayahu said:
My question is,
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
Click to expand...

Possible reasons include the following:

1. The attorney had better things to do.
2. The attorney wanted to mess with you.
3. The attorney is lazy.
4. The attorney was on vacation.
5. The attorney was in trial on other matters.
6. There are dozens - maybe even hundreds - of other possible reasons.

Rather obviously, no one here has any insight into why this unknown attorney waited 13 days to send you the letter. More importantly, who cares? The reason(s) for the 13-day "delay" are utterly irrelevant to anything.


Nasheayahu said:
I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
Click to expand...

Unless the attorney agreed in advance to accept service on behalf of his/her client, your delivery of the summons and complaint to the attorney was not valid under Rule 1-004 of the New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure.

I'm guessing you're attempting to handle a lawsuit without an attorney. If you're going to do that, you need to familiarize yourself with the Rules of Civil Procedure. If you fail to do that, you're very likely to lose your case for reasons having nothing to do with the merits of the case.
 
Nasheayahu said:
My question is,
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
Click to expand...
Could be a lot of reasons, but it doesn't matter what the reason was as it doesn't affect your options.

Nasheayahu said:
2. I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
Click to expand...

The Rules of Civil Procedure in New Mexico (and pretty much every other state) require that the service of the summons and complaint for a lawsuit must be made on the defendant, or, for a business entity defendant, on the business' registered agent. If the attorney was representing the client in this matter and agreed to accept service for his client, that would probably suffice, but since the attorney didn't accept service you're left with serving the actual defendant. So if you want your lawsuit to go forward, you're going to have to read the rules civil procedure and ensure you get service that complies with those rules.
 
Nasheayahu said:
My question is,
1. what are some of the reasons why this attorney waited until now the state this?
2. I should not have to reserve another summons to the defendant, do I?
Click to expand...

Going up against an attorney without one of your own is like taking a rubber knife to a gunfight. You end up on the ground bleeding.
 
ARTICLE 2, 1-004 NMRA, Process.
(A)(2) Summons; issuance. Upon the filing of the complaint, the clerk shall issue a summons and deliver it to the plaintiff for service. Upon the request of the plaintiff, the clerk shall issue separate or additional summons. Any defendant may waive the issuance or service of summons.

Is their a form and/or notice I need to send the attorney or just email the attorney this rule to accept waiver of the issuance or service of summons?

I was looking for some like Western District of Oklahoma Service Packet. Is there any such form, and if there is can someone link me to it?

Thanks!...
 
Nasheayahu said:
Is their a form and/or notice I need to send the attorney or just email the attorney this rule to accept waiver of the issuance or service of summons?
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Probably. However, as far as I know, no one who follows these boards is in New Mexico. Was there anything in the letter the attorney sent you that indicated that he/she would be willing to execute a waiver of service?
 
Can you use 1-060. Relief from judgment or order during a active case. I motion to strike the case and it was denied, but the order contains mistakes and errors. Therefore I would like to use 1-060(B)1?
 
Read it and use your own judgment.

Rule 1-060 - Relief from judgment or order, N.M. R. Civ. P. Dist. Ct. 1-060 | Casetext Search + Citator

Read Rule 1-060 - Relief from judgment or order, N.M. R. Civ. P. Dist. Ct. 1-060, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database
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You have provided no details that would lead to any other advice.

Though I think I would go with a motion for clarification since you aren't going to be "relieved" of the order if only corrections of errors need to be made.
 
Nasheayahu said:
Can you use 1-060. Relief from judgment or order during a active case. I motion to strike the case and it was denied, but the order contains mistakes and errors. Therefore I would like to use 1-060(B)1?
Click to expand...
My legal advice is to get an initial consult with at least 3 lawyers licensed to practice law in NM and choose 1.

The types of questions you have been asking indicate that you need more handholding can be offered on this forum.
 

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