CIVIL PROCESS SERVICE |
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GLOSSARY OF KEY
TERMS |
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Attachment:
A writ against property, which commands the sheriff to seize
property belonging to the defendant to satisfy a claim of the
plaintiff. |
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Competent:
A person who is capable of understanding the contents of the
paper served. |
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Eviction:
A summons to the defendant to appear and answer a complaint for
unlawfully detaining certain premises. |
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Execution:
A write to enforce a judgment, which requires the payment of
money or the delivery of property. |
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Family
Member: In the service of process context, a family
member is a relative who is part of the household. |
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Garnishment:
An action whereby a creditor attempts to satisfy his/her claim
by seizing assets that belong to the debtor but are in the hands
of a third party. |
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Garnishee
Defendant: The party in a garnishment action who is
holding the assets due to the debtor. |
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Haebeas
Corpus: A writ directed to a person detaining anther,
commanding him/her to produce the body of the prisoner at a
certain time and place. |
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Large Claims
Action: An action on a claim for greater than $5,000. |
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Personal
Service: The direct serving of a copy of the paper to
the person to be served. |
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Posting:
A process where a copy of an eviction action is affixed onto
some part of the premises where it can be conveniently read. |
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Principal
Defendant: The debtor in a garnishment action. |
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Reasonable
Diligence: A pursuit of leads or information
reasonably calculated to make personal service possible. |
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Replevin:
A process commanding the sheriff to seize property, which is in
the hands of the defendant. |
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Restraining
Order: An order after a hearing that is intended to
protect one individual from violence, abuse, harassment,
stalking, etc., by another. |
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Small Claims
Action: An action on a claim for $5,000 or less. |
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Substituted
Service: The serving of a copy of the paper at the
party's usual place of abode to a competent member of the family
at least fourteen years of age or to a competent adult currently
residing in the abode. |
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Terminating
Tenancy: A writ notifying the tenant to vacate the
premises at a specified time. |
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Usual Place
of Abode: The actual premises where the party sleeps,
eats and gets mail, etc. |
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Writ of
Restitution: An action, which commands the sheriff to
remove the defendant and goods from the premises so that the
owner may have peaceful possession of the same and to satisfy
the judgment for costs. |
