Legal notice is a right for parties in legal proceedings worldwide, with different methods of service depending on jurisdiction and type of case. In the US, defendants usually receive actual legal notice through authorized means, but public notice may be used when a defendant cannot be located. Constructive notice is used in real estate to give the public access to property records.
In most legal systems around the world, a party to a legal proceeding has the absolute right to be notified of the proceeding by providing legal notice that the proceeding has been commenced. The manner in which the legal notice can be served will vary by jurisdiction, as well as by the type of legal proceeding pending. Additionally, creditors and other members of the public often have a legal interest in information that can only be ascertained by making the information public. Legal notice can be obtained by providing effective notice, constructive notice, or public notice.
Within the United States, when a lawsuit is filed, the defendant must usually receive actual legal notice. Individual states within the United States determine what constitutes an effective notice within the state. In most cases, effective legal communication requires that the plaintiff, or the person who brought the suit, serve the defendant through the civil sheriff or an authorized process server, or through registered or certified mail. In some states, the defendant may also be served by personal service performed by someone over the age of 18 who is not a litigant.
Some types of legal proceedings require legal service to be made by public notice. When a defendant in a lawsuit cannot be located despite a diligent search, the plaintiff may be able to serve him by publishing the complaint in the local newspaper. Other types of cases, such as foreclosures, bankruptcies and probate administration, are also published in a local newspaper. In cases like these, the warning is made publicly in order to inform any creditors who may have an interest in the proceeding and who are unknown to the parties or to the judge.
Another type of legal notice often referred to in the United States is the constructive notice. Constructive notice is a concept that is used most often in real estate, although it also applies to other areas of the law. Many property records need to be archived and made available to the public for anyone who wishes to search them. Titles and property transfers, for example, are typically filed in the county court. The purpose of filing property documents such as these is to give anyone wishing to buy a property “constructive notice” as to who actually owns the property.
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