The NAPPS board meeting, held November 12 at the Embassy Suites DFW Airport, was the best attended board
meeting in NAPPS history. In addition to the nine person board of directors, the administrator and
committee chairs, there were an additional 25 attendees, two members from Florida-Arnie Segel and
Jack Lippman, Stu Perlmutter (Conn.), Robin Martinelli (Georgia),
Matthew Massa (Illinois), Ron Belec (Wash.); and a whopping 18 members and guests from
Texas-a grand total of 38 attendees. Most, if not all of the Texas attendees are members of the Texas
Process Servers Association (TPSA) which has now grown to over 700 members. (See photos of the meeting
in this issue.)
The meeting had a full agenda and consumed almost nine hours not counting the additional two hours in
executive session. There was a lively debate over several issues having to do with the 2006 NAPPS
convention and the 2006 UIHJ Congress.
2006 UIHJ Congress in Washington, DC
The International Association, founded in 1952 in Paris, will be holding its first Congress in the United
States in the Washington, DC area. NAPPS will act as host for the event and will participate with the
UIHJ staff in making certain arrangements regarding hotels and outside activities. Additionally, we will
sponsor a cocktail party on Wednesday, April 26, at the DoubleTree Hotel Crystal City in Arlington, VA.
All NAPPS members are invited to attend the cocktail party at no charge. Members are also invited to
attend at no charge the meetings being held during the 4-day event. Should you attend a meal function,
however, you will be required to pay the scheduled meal fee. The meetings and most lectures are conducted
in French, the official language of the UIHJ.. Headsets for a simultaneous English translation will be
provided.
2006 NAPPS Conference in Austin, TX
Hurricane Katrina blew us out of our 2006 convention site hotel (the Marriott in New Orleans) and into
the clutches of the Marriott Capitol Hotel in Austin, TX.
Message in this issue because he comments on certain changes that are being made at this convention.
One major change pertains to the voting procedure. No last minute nominations will be permitted on
Saturday prior to the election. All nominations will close on Friday afternoon following the annual
meeting. Some members had complained that it was unfair for "surprise" candidates to suddenly
enter the race just minutes before the voting on Saturday afternoon. This change is designed to create
a more level playing field.
Another major change will be the addition of a seminar session on Sunday morning. This came up at the
last board meeting in Dallas, which was after the contract had been signed with the 2006 convention
hotel. The hotel has informed us that they can add the Sunday seminar for an extra fee. No one, at this
point, has any idea how many members are likely to stay over another day, or would be willing to book a
flight home in the mid-to-late afternoon on Sunday. The hotel, however, says they are unable to give
late checkout extensions (checkout time is 12 noon) to a large number of guests.
It would be most appreciated if those who plan to attend the Sunday morning seminar would call or
email the NAPPS office. It will help us in our planning.
Endorsement of New E&O Insurance Agent
The board of directors has voted to add another E&O carrier to its recommended list. The new agent is
Insurance Tek, Inc. of Mill Creek, Wash. Check them out on their website at www.insurance-tek.com.
Eric Vennes, the current Administrator of the Washington State Process Servers Association is the
representative who will be handling the account. Members may reach Eric at 1-888-505-1555.
WRAP-UP OF 2005 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
A number of bills were passed in 2005 that will benefit process servers. By and large it was a
successful year with no mailing bills or similar legislation. Here are some of our successes.
SheriffsFees for Service of Process
North Dakota: Increased from $10 to $20.
West Virginia: Increased from $20 to $25.
Wyoming: Increased from $20 to $35
Repeal of Sunday Service Prohibition
Michigan: The Governor signed HB 4133 which repeals the existing prohibition against service on Sundays.
It does, however, prohibit service on a voter on the day of an election, and service on a person (on any
day) while going to or coming from worship within 500 of that property.
The rationale given for permitting service on Sunday was that various faiths worship on different days
of the week and that to provide a protection only for certain faiths who hold Sunday as a holy day could
be viewed as a violation of the separation of church and state doctrine.
Repeal of Suffolk County (NY) Process Server Law
The Suffolk County Legislature adopted a Resolution in 2002 to license process servers. To say it was
overkill would be an understatement. It was reported on extensively in The Docket Sheet as well as the
New York State Association's newsletter. Finally, after years of indecision as to how to implement a bad
law, the Suffolk County Legislature on 9/27/05 chose to drive a stake in its heart of a law that had been
codified in Chapter 391 of the Suffolk County Code. Congratulations to the fine, dedicated work of the
New York State Professional Process Servers Association (NYSPPSA).
A Florida Sheriff's Scheme Hits a Snag
In September 2005 the Jacksonville (Florida) County Sheriff came up with new procedures for farming out
work to private process servers who serve in Duval County, Florida, a procedure that all Duval County
process servers feared would put them out of business.
The sheriffs' offices in Florida are run differently from most sheriffs in other states. Not only do they
have the power to regulate process servers, they also appoint private process servers to do the routine
civil work sent to the sheriff for service. It is allegedly because of a $400,000 lawsuit against the
City of Jacksonville for improper service (by one of the sheriff's contractors), that the sheriff decided
the best defense against repeat lawsuits is more regulation. And of course he started by requiring
general liability and auto liability policies with $500,000 limits. Then he required the process server
to sign a contract that calls for the process server to pay $20 to the sheriff, get the paper scanned
into the system and then return it to the process server so it can be served. And upon successful
service, the return of service is taken to the sheriff who then determines if it is proper and legal.
If it is, the sheriff gives the process server $10. If the paper was not served, the process server gets
nothing. A sort of coup de grace knockout punch in this scenario is a requirement that the process server
process through the sheriff ALL process received from whatever source ("even if it comes from South
Africa," according to a Sergeant in the office).
Olga McMenamy, a Duval County process server, has posted on the FAPPS website at www.fapps.org an
enlightening account of the problems created by this proposal. She states that a large group of process
servers have hired a Miami attorney who has successfully handled cases on behalf of process servers.
The train has been stopped at the station, at least for now, but there's still fire in the engine. We
certainly don't want other Florida sheriffs to jump on thinking that this hair-brained proposal is a
good idea. If you wish to support their cause, make your contribution to the Duval County Defense Fund
and send to Olga or Mike McMenamy, 9951 Atlantic Blvd, Suite 211, Jacksonville, FL 32225. Make check
out to Michel Weisz Trust Account
