Navigating the Revolutionized Civil Process Service Industry

Process servers around the country have been using Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) to physically locate an address and serve defendants since technology changed and old-school paper maps have become nearly obsolete. GPS navigation became an excellent tool for civil process servers to get around with ease. However, it isn’t just GPS navigation that has revolutionized the civil process service industry; it is the multi-faceted functionality of GPS that has.

Today, civil process servers are taking advantage of logging GPS coordinates when they make service attempts. With the advent of easy-to-use cell phone apps, programs, and process serving software with these features built in, process servers can in one click capture GPS specific location coordinates at which a process server is attempting service is recorded — including the date and time. Although different programs and apps function differently, the GPS coordinates are typically captured when a civil process server snaps a photo or logs in a service attempt. Presently, this information serves as an added record to show when and where service was attempted or effectuated. In fact, logging GPS coordinates is legally required in New York city; this information must accompany all civil process attempts in New York.

Tracking GPS

It wasn’t just changing technology that caused civil process servers to begin logging GPS coordinates when making service attempts, it was the need to provide additional proof to the courts that due diligent attempts to serve defendants were actually made.

Additional proof was needed as a direct result of the New York sewer service scandals in the late 2000's. These events defamed civil process servers and had a massive impact on the requirements of those in the civil process service industry. Essentially, process servers in New York infamously falsified service affidavits after neglecting to provide due diligent efforts or service attempts at all. This practice became widely known as “sewer service” (e.g. they threw the papers in the sewers of New York) has been the bane of the civil process service industry since the height of the scandal in the late 2000's. 

Subsequently, the courts needed to get more reliable confirmation that service attempts had been made. With the capabilities of GPS service, New York city moved to make logging GPS coordinates and storing this data in a third-party system a requirement, which was signed into law in July 2011. Storing the data with a third-party made a permanent record that could not be changed by process servers. While there are currently no statewide GPS regulations in place, it may be something that is required of process servers in the future— especially as many clients are requiring GPS logged service attempts from their civil process service providers.

From Scandal Savior to Value-Added Service

Although sewer service was isolated to some bad apples in New York, the events certainly shook the confidence of those working with civil process servers. Even civil process servers who had a long-standing record of superb service suffered the effects of the scandal as trust was shattered and increased regulations meant extra work, especially when it meant finding and purchasing software programs or apps that could handle logging the GPS data that is required in New York city.

Now that the GPS requirement has been in place and servers are getting comfortable with the newly implemented and more strict requirements, many servers are finding that logging GPS coordinates requires little additional effort as the technology does most of the work for process servers. Past New York State Professional Process Servers Association (NYSPPSA) President and current President-Elect Larry Yelon, recently stated in an interview that many process servers use GPS based on the demands of their client, without a mandate from any agency or municipality. He also predicted that although “more and more process servers will be using GPS, I don’t foresee it becoming an agency demand, at least in the state of New York.”

While GPS logging is not a legal requirement in California yet, I think the more servers and process server firms that use GPS logging, the better. Using such technology should increase transparency and reduce the instances of unscrupulous servers engaging in "gutter service" which gives the entire industry a black eye. I think laws will be coming down nationwide to require logging coordinates during service attempts so being an early adopter of such technology will certainly pay dividends in the future.                                                                                                                                           Joseph Click, I Serve Papers

Outside of New York, many process servers have already moved toward implementing new technology into their business. Process Server Joseph Click out of California explained that “While GPS logging is not a legal requirement in California yet, I think the more servers and process server firms that use GPS logging, the better. Using such technology should increase transparency and reduce the instances of unscrupulous servers engaging in "gutter service" which gives the entire industry a black eye. I think laws will be coming down nationwide to require logging coordinates during service attempts so being an early adopter of such technology will certainly pay dividends in the future.” 

Benefits of GPS Logged Service Attempts

Beyond just providing additional proof to the courts, logging GPS coordinates on service attempts also helps to protect the process server from fraudulent claims of bad service. In the event of a motion to quash, where process servers are forced to reaffirm their service attempts in court, sometimes several years later, logged GPS coordinates can serve as an additional source of documentation. When this is combined with pictures and/or video, detailed service notes, and/or defendant signatures and a process server who can accurately recall the service if questioned, many find that their service is upheld in court. This keeps clients happy and process servers in good standing.

As a final note about the benefits of GPS, it’s also important to be aware of potential issues or criticisms of utilizing GPS coordinates. Logging GPS is a fantastic way for process servers to substantiate their attempts beyond traditional means of documentation, but it is not 100% reliable. In some rural areas, loss of signal may make it impossible or difficult to obtain GPS coordinates. Some also may argue that logging GPS coordinates does not verify that a service attempt was actually made— it only verifies that an individual was at that specific location. In New York city, where process servers are required to store the data with a third party, many find this to be expensive and difficult to obtain. Finally, those process servers who are not currently using technology capable of logging GPS data would need to invest in the technology to be able to do so. Despite these minor criticisms of GPS logging, it absolutely provides a significant benefit to those who use it.

Consider Implementing GPS

Beyond just providing additional proof to the courts, logging GPS coordinates on service attempts also helps to protect the process server from fraudulent claims of bad service. In the event of a motion to quash, where process servers are forced to reaffirm their service attempts in court, sometimes several years later, logged GPS coordinates can serve as an additional source of documentation. When this is combined with pictures and/or video, detailed service notes, and/or defendant signatures and a process server who can accurately recall the service if questioned, many find that their service is upheld in court. This keeps clients happy and process servers in good standing
.
As a final note about the benefits of GPS, it’s also important to be aware of potential issues or criticisms of utilizing GPS coordinates. Logging GPS is a fantastic way for process servers to substantiate their attempts beyond traditional means of documentation, but it is not 100% reliable. In some rural areas, loss of signal may make it impossible or difficult to obtain GPS coordinates. Some also may argue that logging GPS coordinates does not verify that a service attempt was actually made— it only verifies that an individual was at that specific location. In New York city, where process servers are required to store the data with a third party, many find this to be expensive and difficult to obtain. Finally, those process servers who are not currently using technology capable of logging GPS data would need to invest in the technology to be able to do so. Despite these minor criticisms of GPS logging, it absolutely provides a significant benefit to those who use it.

This article features excerpts from the serve-now.com article "Many Process Servers Now Voluntarily Use GPS to Log Service Attempts" written by Stephanie Irvine published on February 03, 2015.