Margaret Novack v. William Fowler

This case involves the sufficiency of service of process. After an automobile accident, Plaintiff sued Defendant for personal injuries. Private process server served Defendant’s father with the complaint rather than Defendant. The Defendant answered the complaint, raising the defense that there was insufficient service of process as to him. Over a year after the summons had been issued, Defendant moved for summary judgment based on insufficient service of process. The trial court denied summary judgment, finding that the Defendant was evading service. Because we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to find that the Defendant was evading service of process, we reverse and remand.