On July 1, the Texas Supreme Court put into effect
its proposed amendments to Rules 103 and 536(a).
The Court proposed these rule changes back in 2004
but delayed implementation pending the outcome of
Senate Bill 165, a process server licensing bill
supported by the Texas Process Servers Association
(TPSA).
This Bill was the subject of much controversy within
the process serving community. Opponents of the
bill charged that it would entangle process servers in
an oppressive bureaucracy of fees, fines, and
penalties. The better alternative, they argued, was the
Supreme Court’s proposed amendments.
The corner-stone of the Supreme Court’s proposal
was process servers would have the opportunity to
get certified and be authorized to serve process
issued from all Texas state courts.
Some members in Texas thought they had hit the
mother lode. Having the Supreme Court in charge
meant low fees and limited involvement in your life
and business by the government. The Private Process
Server Review Board, consisting of nine individuals
appointed by the Supreme Court (three of whom
were process servers), was preferable to being under
the thumb of the sheriff or some other law
enforcement department or agency.
But there’s still room for politics. With a tip of the
hat to powerful interests in Harris County (Houston),
the court’s order specifically stated that the course
given by the Texas Process Servers Association
(TPSA) was approved for all courts except for courts
in Harris County.
There are two other options for getting the education
necessary to be approved for certification in all state
courts. One is to take the course given by the
Houston Young Lawyer’s Association, and the other
is to take a course offered by an academy or other
provider licensed or approved by the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement. On completion of
the course, the course director should supply the
attendee with a certificate of completion. This will
have to be submitted along with the process server‘s
application.
Certification is good for three years. And upon
renewal, you essentially have to complete the same
application process all over again. Get Certificate of
Completion; get criminal history record from the
Texas Dept. of Safety in Austin; and submit with
your application to the Supreme Court in Austin.
Go to www.supremecourts.state.tx.us for copies of
all relevant documents and a detailed explanation of
the certification process.
Tennessee Legislation Under Study
Legislation introduced this year in Tennessee to
license process servers is in a holding pattern
pending evaluation by a specially formed Judicial
Council Sub-Committee Studying Private and Public
Process Service.
This sub-committee held a meeting on July 20 in
Nashville, attended by some 30 judges, legislators,
sheriffs, private process servers and others. NAPPS
was represented by President John Perez, and
TAPPS members Charlie Fineberg, Benny
Walker, Bob Chastain, and Charles McBee spoke
in behalf of Tennessee process servers.
Mr. Perez, the first person called upon to speak,
provided the committee with a list of states that
regulate private process servers and spoke in favor of
limited regulation with a program of continuing
education. He stated he did not believe that a
performance bond was necessary and added that the
statutory fees for serving process in many states
were unrealistically low. He estimated the actual cost
to serve process nationally is between $50 and $60.
Following the meeting, the sub-committee members
identified the following issues that will be discussed
in subsequent meetings this summer:
Are the current statutory service fees sufficient?
Should private process servers be regulated? If so, by what entity?
If education is required, how much is needed, and who should do the training?
Should there be certain process (i.e. orders of protection) that private process servers cannot serve?
2006 Conference in New Orleans
For years members have told us they wanted a
convention in New Orleans. Well, we’ve finally got
one. But in order to get a decent hotel room rate
($119.00 single/double) we had to schedule it for
Memorial Day weekend.
Several of our East Coast members let us know that
everybody on the Right Coast schedules that weekend
for fun and frivolities at their beach homes and
Oceanside resorts, whether owned or rented. But
some others gave us a bit of a surprise. They said that
was a great time for them, especially since they’ll
return on Sunday and have Monday open for a BBQ.
There’s not much we can do about it now (the
contract’s already been signed), but it would be nice
to get some feedback so we’ll know to do—or never
to do—it again.
NAPPS Fall Directory
The NAPPS directory will close for new additions
and changes within days after you get this issue of
The Docket Sheet. PLEASE check your listing on the
NAPPS website and make sure it is correct. What’s
on the website is what gets printed in the directory.
Just go to www.napps.org and type your Last Name
in the appropriate box on the left side of the page.
Then click “Search” and all listings under that name
will come up. It’s a great way for somebody who has
5-10 listings to check them all at one time.
Prognosticator of the Year
In September 1983, just under a
quarter-century ago, the editor of the
CAPPS newsletter, interviewed Andy
Estin, Dick Green, and
Jaunita Tanzer. They
were asked a series of
questions about where the
industry would be 25 years in
the future. Most of the
questions - and answers - were humorous
and in good fun. But one answer stuck out
like a sore thumb and shows that Andy Estin is
deserving of the Gold Medal for Prognosticator of
the Year.
Q: What kind of legislation will govern our
industry?
A: Fee increases, defeating mailing, and electronic
transmission of process.
One must remember that this uncanny observation
was made at a time when many process servers were
still working with Radio Shack computers (if they
even had a computer) and the Fax machine, a new
consumer wonder, was in the process of replacing
Federal Express’ costly and disastrous experiment
with Zap Mail. It is indeed remarkable that someone,
at such an early stage of the technology revolution,
would even contemplate the electronic transmission
of process.
