Serving a servicemember in Litchfield Park, near Luke AFB

Litchfield Park street near Luke Air Force Base, serving papers on a servicemember

Litchfield Park is a small West Valley city, and its neighbor to the north is Glendale, where Luke Air Force Base sits. Luke is home to the 56th Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve's 944th Fighter Wing, with F-16 and F-35 training.

That means some of the people who rent or own homes in Litchfield Park wear a uniform to work. When one of them is a defendant, serving the papers is mostly ordinary, with two important differences: the base itself, and a federal law that applies before anyone can get a default judgment.

Serving off base is the normal route

A civilian process server can't simply drive onto Luke. Access is controlled, and the base isn't obliged to let a server in to find someone. Some installations have procedures for accepting legal process through their legal office. Those vary, take time and aren't something to count on.

In practice, almost all service on servicemembers living in and around Litchfield Park happens at home or somewhere in the community. Under Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 4.1(d), a certified process server can hand the papers to the person directly, or leave them at the person's home with someone of suitable age and discretion who lives there. A spouse at home in Litchfield Park would usually qualify. A roommate who lives there might too.

Military schedules are irregular, with long training days, early starts and temporary duty elsewhere. Expect service to take more than one trip, and tell your server anything you know about the person's hours.

When the person has been deployed or moved

Military families move often. A servicemember who lived on a quiet Litchfield Park street last year may have been reassigned to another base, or deployed. If the house is empty, or a new family answers the door, stop and confirm the current address before paying for more attempts.

If the person is deployed overseas, service gets more complicated, and you should talk to a lawyer. Arizona Rule 4.1(k) allows a court to order alternative service when the usual methods are impracticable, but that's a motion your attorney would bring, and it doesn't override the protections below.

The SCRA affidavit

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is a federal law that protects active-duty servicemembers from losing a civil case just because their service kept them from showing up. Its rules on default judgments apply in Arizona courts the same as anywhere.

Before a court enters a default judgment against a defendant who hasn't appeared, the plaintiff must file an affidavit. The affidavit has to state whether the defendant is in military service, with facts supporting that, or say that the plaintiff couldn't determine it. That requirement is now in 50 U.S.C. 3931. If it looks like the defendant is in service, the court can't enter a default judgment until it appoints an attorney to represent them.

The Defense Manpower Data Center runs a free public website that anyone trying to comply with the SCRA can use to check military status. A search needs the person's last name and either a Social Security number or date of birth. The site lets you print a certificate showing the search was run on a given date. Many lawyers attach that certificate to their affidavit.

This matters to your process server because it means service is only part of the job. If you serve a Luke-based defendant and they don't respond, you still can't get a quick default without dealing with the SCRA. Plan for it.

A note for servicemembers being served

If you're on active duty and you've been handed court papers at home in Litchfield Park, read them, note the deadline, and contact your base legal office. The SCRA can give you protections, including in some cases a delay of proceedings, but you usually have to raise them. Our guide on what to do if you are served covers general first steps, and our article on a process server at your door in Litchfield Park is written for residents.

Booking a server

When you hire a process server for a servicemember in Litchfield Park, tell them up front that the person is military, give them the home address and any known schedule, and mention whether there's a spouse or other adult in the house. Ask how they handle someone who may have been reassigned.

You can browse certified process servers in Litchfield Park or the full Litchfield Park page. Every process server listed on Served & Found is on the Arizona Supreme Court's certified list.

This is general information, not legal advice. The SCRA has more to it than one affidavit, so if a default judgment is on the table, ask a lawyer.

See the board: everyone in Litchfield Park · process servers only.