On 5-16-11 I received in the mail a notice of summary judgement from the county small claims court in Austin, TX. I had no idea I was being sued and immediately called the court to find out what was going on. I was told that I had been served with a notice of the lawsuit on 2-19-11 by Assured Civil Process. Well, that was news to me!
I immediately called Assured Civil Process and spoke with the owner Dana McMichael. He said that Jerry Melber (his employee) indicated he had served me in person and at my home address on Saturday, 2-19-11. Of course I was shocked because I am handicapped and homebound, and nobody comes on my property without me knowing it, and I knew nobody had served me with anything, ever (I've never been sued before).
Anybody that shows up to my house has to go through a gate with a "Beware of Dog" sign where they are greeted by my two dogs barking their heads off. I know I was home the day he claims to have served me because I rarely go out (and cannot go out without assistance and somebody who has a car).in February the only time I left the house was on the Monday the 28th for a birthday lunch with my sister.
For the sake of brevity I will just say that I immediately sent an appeal to the judge who handled the case (5 handwritten pages) explaining I was never served and I wanted an opportunity to confront my accuser. About 3 weeks later I called the judge's office because I hadn't heard anything from him, and his clerk told me that "the window of time in which the judge could take action had closed and the judge had not taken action on my request." And, to pursue it further, I would need to hire an attorney.
Well, of course I can't afford to hire an attorney, and this IS small claims court... But, because the judge chose not to be bothered by doing anything it was too bad for me.
So, immediately after learning that information I filed a complaint with the Tx. Supreme Court's Process Server Review Board (this was on 6-27). I sent them a four page typed, single-spaced letter recounting everything that had occurred, including details of all conversations, and requested a hearing on the matter with Jerry Melber present.
Yesterday (7-27-11) I heard back from the Review Board and they said the matter was outside of their authority to handle. Of course that made me wonder what kinds of cases they COULD handle because mine seemed pretty basic. I will call them tomorrow and try to find out if there is anywhere else I can go for satisfaction—without having to hire a lawyer.
Nobody has behaved particularly badly or rudely, but the amount of apathy is absolutely stunning to me! I feel as though my civil rights have been trampled and nobody could care any less than these officers of the court do. The process server is a quasi-officer of the court, and he has a duty to tell the truth! He flat out lied by saying he served me when he did not and I am truly shocked and amazed that it simply doesn't bother anybody except me! Hey! This is America... Or maybe what I thought America stood for just doesn't exist anymore.
As it stands now, satisfaction eludes me. I will make a final effort to see if there is anywhere else I can file an official complaint but it is obviously acceptable to the small claims court, Assured Civil Process agency, and the Texas Supreme Court that a process server lies and does not do his sworn duty, and is in contempt of court. I thought at the very least I would be able to have a hearing on the matter.
So, y'all beware of Jerry Melber, Assured Civil Process Agency and its owner Dana McMichael, and the Texas court system.
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