Court papers for someone who works on a Chandler tech campus

Secured tech campus in Chandler where serving papers at work is hard for a process server

You know exactly where the person you are suing will be at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday: at their desk on one of the big campuses along Chandler's Price Corridor, the stretch beside the Loop 101 Price Freeway. The city says the corridor holds more than 40,000 jobs, and Intel's Ocotillo campus is one of its best-known employers. It seems like the easy answer. Often it is not.

Here is what to expect if the only place you know to find someone is a secured workplace, and what usually works better.

You can't hand them the papers yourself

The Maricopa County Superior Court's service guide is blunt: you cannot serve your own documents. Papers in a civil case are served by the sheriff or a deputy, a constable or a deputy, or a certified private process server, and the person serving must not be involved in the case. Most people hire a private server because they can be more flexible about times and places.

Why the office is often the wrong place

Big employers control access tightly: a security desk, badge-controlled doors, sometimes a fenced lot with a gate. A process server has no special right to get past any of that. If security asks them to leave and they stay, that can be criminal trespass under A.R.S. 13-1502. A certified server also cannot talk their way in by pretending to be someone else. The Arizona Supreme Court's rules for certified servers, in the Code of Judicial Administration, bar them from claiming to be a police officer or court employee.

Corporate security has no duty to call the employee down, and many sites have a firm policy against it. So a workplace attempt can mean a wasted trip, and you pay for those.

A receptionist can't take them

People ask whether the front desk or a manager can just pass the papers along. For papers aimed at a person, no. Arizona allows papers to be left with someone of suitable age and discretion only at the person's home, and only if that someone lives there. A coworker does neither. Papers handed to a receptionist "to give to him" invite a fight later about whether service ever happened.

What usually works better

The court's guide says papers can be served where the person lives, where they work, or anywhere else they can be found. In practice, that gives you better options than a gatehouse.

Their home. For most people the home address is easier, and if the person is out, the papers can be left with an adult who lives there.

Before or after work. A shopping centre on the way home, a gym, a child's practice. Anywhere public is fine. An employee lot behind a gate is not, unless the server is allowed to be there.

Their lawyer. If the person already has an attorney, ask whether the attorney will accept service for them.

A mailed acceptance. In some cases you can send the papers with a form for the other side to sign and return. Ask the court or your lawyer whether that fits your case.

What to tell your process server

The guide asks you to give the server the exact address and the times of day the person will be there. For someone who works on a campus, also pass on:

the home address, if you have it
their work schedule, including whether they work from home on some days
a recent photo, and their car and plate
places they regularly go after work

You don't need to dig further than that. Pass on what you know.

If your case is against the company itself

If the defendant is the employer, the job is different. The court's guide says to serve a corporation's officer or its agent for service, and that you can find an Arizona corporation's agent through the Arizona Corporation Commission. Companies list a statutory agent with the Commission, and large ones often use a commercial agent at a different address. Check that filing before you send anyone to a security desk at all.

How long you have

The court's guide says the summons and complaint generally have to be served within 90 days after you file. Don't spend half of that on attempts at a gatehouse. If the person seems reachable only inside a secured site, talk to your lawyer early about asking the court for permission to serve another way.

If you're the one being served at work

Being handed papers in a lobby or a parking lot is uncomfortable, but it does not mean you have done anything wrong, and taking the papers is not admitting anything. The court's guide notes that the person being served does not have to accept the papers, say anything or sign anything; the papers can be left near you. Don't argue with the server or ask security to remove them once it is done. Read the deadline on the first page, write down the date you were served, and talk to a lawyer if you need one. Our note on what to do when a process server comes to your Chandler door walks through the first week.

Finding a server

Every process server on Served & Found is on the Arizona Supreme Court's certified list. You can find process servers working across the East Valley, including Chandler, and read how to hire a process server before you call. For everything else, see the Chandler page.

This is general information, not legal advice. If all you have is a work address, start by finding a home address. It usually saves more trips than anything else.

See the board: everyone in Chandler · process servers only.