ABRAMS v. ABRAMS., 239 Ga. 866, 239 S.E.2.d 33 (1977)
Linked as:
Summary
Judgment reversed. All the Justices Concur.
Summary
Judgment reversed. All the Justices Concur.
Text
The question presented by this appeal is whether a plaintiff may personally serve process on the defendant.
The appellee filed an alimony action against the appellant. On the same date she made a motion to be appointed a special agent for the service of process, alleging that the appellant was concealing himself to avoid service of process and that it would be very difficult for the sheriff to serve him. This motion was granted, and the appellee later made an affidavit that she had served the complaint by personally handing the appellant a copy of it.
After a hearing on the appellant's motion to dismiss, the trial judge held that the appellant was properly served with process, and the motion to dismiss the complaint on the grounds argued was denied.
The appellant made the question of the illegality of the service at the time he filed his first defensive pleadings, and there was no waiver of the alleged defective service. Code Ann. 81A-112 (h) (Ga. L. 1966, pp. 609, 622; 1967, pp. 226, 231; 1968, pp. 1104, 1106; 1972, pp. 689, 692, 693).
Code Ann. 81A-104 (c) (Ga. L. 1966, pp. 609, 610; 1967, pp. 226, 227, 228, 249; 1968, p. 1036; 1968, pp. 1104, 1105; 1969, p. 487; 1972, pp. 689-692) provides: "Process shall be served by the sheriff of the county where the action is brought or where the defendant is found, or by his deputy, or by the marshal or sheriff of the court, or by his deputy, or by any citizen of the United States, specially appointed by the court for that purpose." (Emphasis supplied.)
It is argued by the appellee that the emphasized language authorizes any citizen of the United States to serve process, which would not exclude the parties in a case. The law prior to the Civil Practice Act had no similar language, and no cases have been decided on this point since the Civil Practice Act became effective. There are cases, however, which state the policy of this state in the service of process.
In Flury v. Grimes,
Katz, Weissman & Loftis, Donald A. Weissman, for appellant.
1977
Sponsored links
