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Firefly Legal can take care of your process serving and skip tracing so that you don’t have to face serving obstacles or fail to file a legal case.
Dover, Delaware’s process servers do vital work to support the state’s court system. They keep cases moving forward for lawyers, and they protect the due process rights of defendants in all kinds of legal cases, including civil lawsuits and some criminal charges.
Attorneys in Delaware need to choose process servers who are experienced and knowledgeable, as there are serious risks associated with picking the wrong server. As the capital of Delaware, Dover lawyers stay busy, and they can’t really afford the lost time that can occur when a server doesn’t know what they’re doing.
For decades, Firefly Legal has been helping lawyers and other legal professionals find process servers nationwide. We can help you find a server who understands why it is so important to provide accurate, timely service of process that is aligned with all of the legal requirements in Kent County and the rest of Delaware.
The work of serving process is pretty consistent throughout the country, regardless of what state the server works in. However, the rules vary from one state to the next, as the laws for the service of process are set by each state, not the federal government.
Delaware process servers, for example, are governed by Delaware’s Rules of Civil Procedure. Simply crossing the state line can lead to a completely different set of rules. These rules determine exactly who can serve process in the state, as well as how they can do the work in different scenarios.
Firefly Legal understands that you need to choose a Dover process server who understands these rules and knows how to abide by them. The last thing you want is for a server’s lack of knowledge to derail your entire case before it gets into the courtroom or reaches negotiations
Delaware maintains a more restrictive approach to the service of process than many states, primarily relying on county sheriffs for service of legal documents in civil matters. Private individuals can only serve process after obtaining special court authorization, which requires demonstrating specific circumstances.
Basic requirements for authorized servers include:
Delaware does not offer private process server licensing. However, special appointments may be granted more readily for certain statutory service situations, such as service on the Delaware Secretary of State under specific Delaware Code provisions.
Delaware Superior Court Rules authorize specific categories of individuals to deliver legal documents.
Primary authorized servers include:
Legal documents may be delivered to any party named in court proceedings, with specific protocols for different categories of defendants:
Process servers throughout Delaware must follow these additional regulations:
The best process servers in the state are those who understand these rules and follow them to the letter. Lawyers in Dover need to find process servers who can do this important work in a way that stands up to legal challenges and prevents costly delays.
Being a leader in the civil process service industry means providing our clients with unparalleled integrity, excellence, and reliability.
For nearly thirty years, Firefly Legal has been a trusted partner to attorneys and other legal professionals who need the services of excellent process servers. We match your firm with hard-working, professional process servers who can handle simple and complex cases alike.
Whether you need a server in Dover or the surrounding counties, or even across state lines, Firefly Legal can connect you with the people you’re looking for. Our servers give you a solid foundation for your legal cases.
We have a nationwide network of servers, including many who work here in Dover. Our servers have more than just technical knowledge of the rules; they also have local knowledge that increases their service success rates.
When you partner with Firefly Legal, you can expect:
Delaware does not maintain a licensing program for private process servers. However, Delaware is more restrictive than many states regarding who may serve legal documents. The county Sheriff or deputy sheriffs serve most legal process. Private individuals can only serve process after receiving special court appointment. Courts grant these appointments only when specific conditions are met. For subpoenas only, any non-party individual 18 years or older may serve without special appointment.
When the Sheriff cannot locate a defendant in Dover, the plaintiff may petition the court for appointment of a special process server. The moving papers must demonstrate that the Sheriff has already made one return marked “non est inventus” (not found). The court will notify the Sheriff of this petition, and the Sheriff may contest it.
Delaware courts may also authorize alternative service methods when traditional approaches prove unsuccessful. These alternatives require court approval and may include publication in newspapers or other court-sanctioned notification methods. The requesting party must demonstrate that reasonable efforts were made through standard service channels first.
Service timelines in Dover vary based on several factors. The Sheriff’s current caseload and availability affect completion speed. The defendant’s accessibility and cooperation also play significant roles.
Most process are returnable within 20 days of issuance. Straightforward service on defendants at known addresses often occurs more quickly. Business service may require coordination with business hours and the availability of authorized recipients.
Cases requiring special court appointment of a process server will take longer. The court must first review the motion for special appointment and notify the Sheriff. Only after an appointment can the private server attempt service.
For most legal documents, you cannot hire a private process server without first obtaining court approval in Delaware. The Sheriff maintains primary authority for serving summons, complaints, and other civil process. Private servers require special appointment from the court, which is granted only under limited circumstances.
To request a special appointment, you must file moving papers with the court. These papers must show the Sheriff has failed to locate the defendant, or that service must occur outside normal business hours, or that other urgent circumstances exist. The court will notify the Sheriff of your request before granting any special appointment.
However, subpoenas follow different rules. Any non-party individual who is at least 18 years old may serve a subpoena without court appointment or special authorization. This exception applies only to subpoenas, not to other types of legal process.
Process servers in Delaware must file returns with the Prothonotary promptly after completing service. These returns must be filed by the specified return day, typically 20 days after the writ was issued.
Returns must detail when service was completed and who received the documents. If the server could not complete service, the return must explain the reasons why. Private servers (those with special court appointments) must provide verified or sworn returns. Sheriff and deputy returns do not require verification.
Delaware allows service to occur anywhere within the state, regardless of county boundaries. A Sheriff from one county may serve process in another Delaware county. Service can take place at the defendant’s residence, workplace, or any location where the defendant can be found, depending on the type of defendant and service requirements.
Our team at Firefly Legal is proud of our lengthy history of connecting legal professionals with experienced process servers here in Delaware and beyond.
Our clients in Dover and the surrounding cities are consistently satisfied with our work, which is how we have developed a stellar reputation in legal communities nationwide. In addition to process servers, we also provide additional legal services and support.
Book a call with Firefly Legal today to find out more about how we can support your legal case from start to finish.
Firefly audits every file coming in and going out without slowing down the process. We believe our attention to detail is unique to the industry and brings a high level of accuracy to our clients. We demand perfection!
Our firm handles a high volume caseload and Firefly has been instrumental in developing systems that are efficient, yet maintain a high degree of quality control. Firefly’s team is innovative and adaptable to help us meet the needs of our clients, and has utilized creative solutions to help navigate the ever-changing legal landscape.
Joel Knosher, Attorney Denzin Soltanzadeh LLC
Our firm has had the pleasure of working with Firefly for several years now. Firefly’s customer service and response times are outstanding. Firefly’s web portal is extremely user-friendly, and the file information is always up to date. In addition to placing file updates on their web portal, Firefly also sends email updates, which is extremely convenient and allows us to easily save updates to our electronic files. Firefly also provides our firm with quarterly client reports that provide us with important details on our files, such as status updates and analytics, which are invaluable from a practice management standpoint. We truly enjoy working with Firefly and consider them a valued vendor partner!
Albertelli Law Partners Ohio – Tony Scarlato, Ohio Managing Partner
It was a pleasure working with the Firefly team for this years audit. Firefly was very responsive, professional and thorough in both their initial questionnaire as well as all follow-ups. Firefly’s compliance and security controls are both on point. I look forward to our continued relationship and working with them on the compliance audit in 2021.
Stefanie Rudy, Compliance Manager – Diaz Anselmo & Associates P.A.
Overall Firefly has drastically helped with efficiency of the service process in our office. They have extremely fast turnaround times with getting things filed and out for service, a very attentive detail oriented staff which is very helpful and responsive to all messages, their servers have done great so far in locating defendants and getting them served quickly, and an added plus is their website which is very user friendly and straight forward to use. Overall I would give Firefly an A+ grade, keep up the good work.
Henschel & Beinhaker, P.A.
“Thank you for working so hard for/and with us to ensure the filings are getting done timely. I know it can get a little crazy sometimes with these FHA deadlines and we appreciate you always working with us to ensure the deadlines are getting met.”
Anselmo Lindberg & Associates LLC
I wanted to thank you for the expeditious manner in which you handled obtaining the court date and filing the documents at the Bridgeview courthouse. You saved us a lot of aggravation and our client a lot of money. We will definitely be using Firefly Legal in the future. Thanks again.
Julie McCormack, DAVIS|FRIEDMAN
Firefly takes pride in putting our clients first. We are dedicated to delivering results and becoming a valued partner to you and your company. See why Firefly has become one of the nation’s most trusted legal service providers today.
Firefly’s intention is to respect and protect the privacy of users of its website. Firefly wants you to understand its practices with regard to collecting and using your information both online and offline and the steps it takes to safeguard your privacy. This statement applies to Personally Identifiable Information collected from Firefly customers. When this Privacy Policy uses the term “Personally Identifiable Information” it refers to information that lets Firefly know the specifics of who you are and can be used to identify, contact or locate you. Personally Identifiable Information might include your name, mailing address, telephone number, mobile phone number, email address, and other identification and contact information. With this information, Firefly can fill your service requests and better provide you with personalized service.
“Non Personally Identifiable Information” refers to information that does not identify a specific individual by itself or in combination with other information. Firefly may gather certain information about you such as age, date of birth, gender, as well as purchasing information based upon what services you purchase at its website. This information may be compiled and analyzed on both an individual and an aggregated basis. This information may include the Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) of the Website from which you just came, which URL you next go to, what browser you are using and your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. A URL is the global address of documents and other resources on the Internet. An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) network, such as the Internet. Networks use the TCP/IP protocol to route information based on the IP address of the destination. In other words, an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Internet, allowing Internet servers to locate and identify your computer. Computers require IP addresses in order for users to communicate on the Internet, browse and shop.
No information shoold be submitted to or posted on this website by anyone under age 13. Firefly does not provide any Personally Identifiable Information to any third party for any purpose whatsoever from any user of this website who is under age 13 and no such information will be used by Firefly for any purpose.
Firefly welcomes any and all questions and feedback. For privacy-related issues, please contact Firefly at:
Firefly Legal, Inc.
19150 South 88th Avenue
Mokena, Illinois 60448
Telephone No.: (877) 963-3534
Email: info@fireflylegal.com
Your email address will not be shared with any third parties. Instructions for unsubscribing from any newsletters or promotional emails are included in every email.
Firefly offers choices about the types of information you receive from Firefly. If you prefer not to receive communications from Firefly or if you prefer to receive them less frequently, please contact Firefly at the address shown above.
You may ask to review, revise, correct or update any of your personal information by contacting Firefly at the address above. You may also request changes in your email preferences, such as letting Firefly know that you do not wish to receive further email communications from Firefly or if you wish to have your personal information removed from its email mailing list. You may contact Firefly with regard to these matters at the address shown above.
Please be sure to provide your exact name and address so that Firefly can be sure to identify you correctly. Because mailings are planned in advance, it may take several weeks for your request to become effective. If, due to human error, you continue to receive unwanted communications, please contact Firefly again and it will make every effort to correct the situation.
When you provide Firefly with your email address, it may send you emails necessary to respond to a request. Your email address will be used only to respond to your request and will not be shared with any third parties. Instructions for unsubscribing from receiving future emails (opting-out) are included in every email containing promotional material.
It is Firefly’s intent to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of information that it has collected from you. Firefly employs reasonable security measures to protect the security of the information you submit. When you request services or create an account on its website, your access to that account is password protected so that only you can access it. Firefly maintains the data you provide in a secure database.
If Firefly makes changes to any terms or conditions of its Privacy Policy, the changes will be posted on this portion of the website so that you will always know what information is collected, how it might be used, to whom it may be disclosed and what choices you have. Please be sure to check this page each time you visit the website. Your continued use of this website following any posted changes to these terms will mean that you have accepted those changes.
For questions, comments or assistance, you are invited to contact Firefly at its address at the beginning of this Policy or above, or by calling us toll free at (877) 963-3534.
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