In case you missed the story in our last Avvocato Litigation Support International E-Newsletter, it is reprinted here for your convenience. This is a story about service of process gone awry when a process server fails to follow proper due diligence.
According to HollywoodReporter.com, actor James Franco took a class back in 2010 at New York University. After his professor gave him a “D” in the class, Franco was sued for allegedly making “disparaging and inaccurate public statements.”
The attorney for the professor first attempted service of process by having the process server deliver the defamation papers directly to the University but NYU would not accept on Franco’s behalf. In the second service of process attempt, the professor’s attorney found an incorrect address for Franco on a gossip blog and his process server “threw some court papers on the ground in front of the residence.”
In a court filing, one of Franco’s lawyers wrote, “Gossip blogs are frankly not the most accurate sources upon which to base one’s due diligence.” Franco’s attorneys then asked the judge to dismiss the defamation lawsuit and the court entered a dismissal against Franco for lack of personal jurisdiction.
This is one case where the professor should give his attorney an “F” for lack of proper due diligence!
To read the full story on HollywoodReporter.com of how this service of process went awry, click here.