Puerto Rico Rules of Civil Procedure Service of Process
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Service of Process is a Constitutional Imperative of the Due Process of Law. The due process clauses in the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Puerto Rico, prohibit the courts from exercising personal jurisdiction over a defendant unless the defendant has proper notice. of court proceedings.
To comply with this rule (4), courts require plaintiffs to arrange for defendants to receive a subpoena (summons) and copy of plaintiffs' complaint.
"Art. II, Sec. 7 of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, provides:" The right to life, liberty and enjoyment of property is recognized as a fundamental right of the human being ... No person shall be deprived of your liberty or property without due process of law ... ".
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution - Due Process Clause; provides the following ...
Section 1. "Every person born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, is a citizen of the United States and of the State in which he resides. No State may create or implement laws that limit the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States. the United States; neither may any State deprive a person of his life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction equal legal protection. "
Puerto Rico Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4. Service of Process[edit]
Rule 4.1. Issuance
Upon the filing of the complaint, the clerk shall forthwith issue a summons and deliver it to the plaintiff or his attorney. Upon request of the plaintiff, the clerk shall issue separate or additional summons against any defendants.
Rule 4.2. Form
The summons shall be signed by the clerk, shall bear the name and seal of the court, specifying the part, and the names of the parties; shall be addressed to the defendant, state the name, address and telephone number of the plaintiff’s attorney, and the term within which these rules require the defendant to appear, and shall advise him that if he fails to do so, judgment by default shall be rendered against him, granting the relief demanded in the complaint.
Rule 4.3. By Whom Served; Term to Serve
(a) Service of process shall be made by a marshal or by any person not less than eighteen or by a private process server in Puerto Rico, (18) years of age who can read and write, who is not a party or his attorney and who has no interest in the action. In the case of defendants who are outside Puerto Rico, the summons shall be served by a marshal of the jurisdiction where it is served or by an attorney authorized to practice law in said jurisdiction or in Puerto Rico or by a person specially appointed by the court for that purpose.
(b) A subpoena shall be served within a period of six (6) months from the date the lawsuit is filed. The office of the Clerk of the Court of First Instance shall issue such subpoena on the date the lawsuit is filed. If the office of the Clerk should fail to issue the subpoena on the same date, the courts shall grant an additional term for serving the subpoena equal to the number of days the issue is delayed. To that effect, the parties shall promptly file an application for deferment to serve the subpoena in connection with their lawsuit. Furthermore, such six (6)-month term may only be deferred under other circumstances and for a reasonable period if the plaintiff, in the discretion of the court, shows just cause for deferment and requests the same within the term originally prescribed. If the term originally prescribed or its deferment should lapse before the subpoena has been served, the case shall be dismissed with prejudice to plaintiff.
Rule 4.3.1. Waiver of summons; duty of defendant to avoid the expenses of the processing of a summons
(a) A defendant who waivers a summons does not waiver raising the defense of lack of standing, or requesting the transfer of the case to a court with jurisdiction.
(b) A person of legal age, corporation, company, partnership, association, or any other legal person notified that a claim has been raised against him has the duty to avoid the expenses for the processing of a summons.
(c) The claimant may notify the defendant that a claim has been raised against him and, in said notification, request that the defendant waiver the summons. The notification:
(1) Must be in writing and addressed to the defendant, if it is an individual, or to an official, administrative manager or general agent, or to any other agent authorized to receive summonses by means of appointment or legal designation, in the case of a corporation, company, partnership, association, or any other legal person.
(2) Must be sent by certified mail with return receipt requested, or by other reliable means that confirm the receipt of the document.
(3) Must be accompanied by a copy of the claim and must identify the court at which it was filed.
(4) Must inform the defendant of the consequences entailed by compliance or non compliance with the request.
(5) Must allow the defendant a reasonable term to return the waiver, which shall be of at least thirty (30) days, starting on the date in which the request was sent, or sixty (60) days from that date if the defendant is abroad.
(6) Must provide the defendant with an additional copy of the request, as well as a self-addressed envelope.
If the defendant does not fill out the waiver request, the court shall impose upon same the payment of the expenses incurred in the processing of the summons. However, the court shall not impose the payment of such expenses if the defendant is able to show just cause for not having filled out the waiver request.
(d) A defendant who promptly returns the summons waiver shall not have to answer the claim until after sixty (60) days after the date in which the request was sent to him, or ninety (90) days, if the defendant is abroad.
(e) The date of the notification of the claim and the summons shall be the same as that in which the claimant submits the summons waiver to the court.
(f) The expenses to be paid by the defendant that does not comply with the request for the summons waiver shall be those incurred by the claimant for the processing of the summons, in addition to the expenses incurred in attorney’s fees for the preparation of the motion requesting payment of the expenses for the summons. Rule 4.4. Personal service In those cases in which it is applicable, if the defendant does not [waive] the summons by means of the mechanism set forth in Rule 4.3.1, the summons and the claim shall be processed jointly. The defendant shall forward the necessary copies to the person who performs the processing. Said person, when delivering the copy of the summons, shall sign the back of same, stating the date and the location of the delivery, and the name of the person to whom same was delivered. The processing shall be performed as follows:
(a) Upon a person of legal age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to him personally or to an agent authorized by him or appointed by law to receive service of process.
(b) Upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to his father or mother with patria potestas or to a guardian, in case they are outside Puerto Rico, service shall be made, instead, upon any of the persons having the care of the minor or upon the person with whom the minor lives. In case the father, mother or guardian lives in Puerto Rico but the minor does not live with him or her, any of the persons named above shall also be served with process.
Upon a minor fourteen (14) years or older, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to him personally and to his father or mother with patria potestas or to his guardian. In case the father, mother or guardian are outside Puerto Rico, any of the persons having the care of the minor or the person with whom he lives shall be served with process in their stead.
(c) Upon a person declared incompetent by a court and for whom a guardian has been appointed, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said person and to his guardian. In the case of a person not declared incompetent by a court but confined in an institution for the treatment of mental illness, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said person and to the director of the institution. In all other cases where the plaintiff, his attorney or the person making service may have reasonable grounds to believe that the person upon whom service is to be made is mentally incompetent, he shall notify the court so that it may proceed pursuant to Rule 15.2 (b).
(d) Upon a person confined in a correctional institution, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint personally to him and to the director of the institution.
(e) Upon a corporation, company, partnership, association or any other artificial person, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an officer, managing or general agent, or to any other agent authorized by appointment or designated by law to receive service of process.
(f) Upon the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the Secretary of Justice or to a person designated by him.
(g) Upon an officer or agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico other than a public corporation by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to said officer or to the chief executive of said agency. Furthermore, it shall be an indispensable requirement that in all suits filed against an officer or agency of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico other than a public corporation, the plaintiff shall deliver a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the Secretary of Justice or to the person designated by him. If the agency is a public corporation, copies shall be delivered pursuant to the provisions in Rule 4.4(e).
(h) Upon a municipal corporation or agency thereof with standing to sue and be sued, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to the chief executive officer thereof or to a person designated by him.
Rule 4.4. Personal service
In those cases in which it is applicable, if the defendant does not [waive] the summons by means of the mechanism set forth in Rule 4.3.1, the summons and the claim shall be processed jointly. The defendant shall forward the necessary copies to the person who performs the processing. Said person, when delivering the copy of the summons, shall sign the back of same, stating the date and the location of the delivery, and the name of the person to whom same was delivered. The processing shall be performed as follows:
(a) Upon a person of legal age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to him personally or to an agent authorized by him or appointed by law to receive service of process.
(b) Upon a person under fourteen (14) years of age, by delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to his father or mother with patria potestas or to a guardian, in case they are outside Puerto Rico, service shall be made, instead, upon any of the persons having the care of the minor or upon the person with whom the minor lives. In case the father, mother or guardian lives in Puerto Rico but the minor does not live with him or her, any of the persons named above shall also be served with p
Rule 4.5. Service by edicts and publication thereof
(a) The court shall issue an order providing for a summons by publication when the person to be served is outside of Puerto Rico or if in Puerto Rico, cannot be located although pertinent attempts have been made to locate him/her, or when the person goes into hiding to avoid being served, or if it is a foreign corporation with no resident agent, and it is proved to the satisfaction of the court through an affidavit stating the steps taken, and said statement or sworn complaint filed states that justifies the granting of some relief against the person to be served or that said person is the proper party in the suit action.
The return of process, unexecuted, shall not be a prerequisite for an order for service by publication.
The order shall provide that the summons shall be published only once in a newspaper of general circulation in Puerto Rico. The order shall also provide that, within the ten (10) days following the publication of the summons, the defendant shall be sent a copy of the summons and of the complaint filed, by certified mail, with acknowledgment of receipt, or through any other mail delivery service with acknowledgment of receipt, provided said entity has no ties with the defendant nor any interest in the suit, to his/her last known address, unless a sworn statement is made justifying that in spite of the steps taken, which shall be stated, it has been impossible to find any known address of the defendant, in which case the court will [excuse] compliance of this provision.
(b) The summons shall contain the following information:
(1) Title—Service by Edict
(2) Part of the Court of First Instance
(3) Case number
(4) Plaintiff’s name
(5) Name of defendant to be served
(6) Type of action
(7) Name, address and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney
(8) Name of person issuing the summons through publication
(9) Date of issue
(10) Term within which the person so served shall answer the complaint, as provided in Rule 10.1, and a warning that if he/she fails to answer the complaint by filing the original of the answer with the corresponding court, with a copy to plaintiff, the contempt shall be entered and judgment shall be rendered granting the remedy sought without further summons or hearing. The summons shall identify in ten (10)-point bold black letters, every first mention of a natural and/or juridical person who is summoned thereby.
If the complaint is amended at any time before the appearance of the defendant summoned by publication, said amended complaint shall be served on him/her in the manner provided by the applicable rule on service.
In the case of defendants who are away from Puerto Rico, the plaintiff may substitute personal delivery of copies of the complaint and the summons on the defendant, for summons by publication. Service of summons in this case shall be made pursuant to Rule 4.3.
Rule 4.6. Service on unknown defendants
When unknown defendants must be served with process, service shall be made by publication under the provisions of Rule 4.5, substantially complying with said provisions wherever possible.
Rule 4.7. Service on a person not domiciled in Puerto Rico
(a) Whenever the person to be served is not domiciled in Puerto Rico, the General Court of Justice shall take jurisdiction over said person if the action or claim arises because said person:
(1) Transacted business in Puerto Rico personally or through an agent; or
(2) participated in tortious acts within Puerto Rico personally or through his agent; or
(3) was involved in an automobile accident while driving a motor vehicle in Puerto Rico personally or through his agent; or
(4) was involved in an accident in Puerto Rico while operating, personally or through his agent, a freight or passenger transportation business in Puerto Rico, between Puerto Rico and the United States or between Puerto Rico and a foreign country, or if, in the operation of said business, an accident occurs outside Puerto Rico and the contract had been executed in Puerto Rico; or
(5) owns, uses or possesses, personally or through his agent, real property in Puerto Rico.
(b) In said cases, service shall be made pursuant to Rule 4.5.
Rule 4.8. Return of service
Proof of service shall be made by the process server and filed with the court within the term to appear granted to the person on whom process was served. If service is made by a marshal, his proof shall consist of the corresponding return; and if made by another person, proof of service shall be made by affidavit. If service is made by publication, the same shall be proved through an affidavit made by the newspaper’s manager or authorized agent, together with a copy of the notice and with an affidavit stating that a copy of the summons and of the complaint were mailed. In the cases where process is served under Rules 4.5 and 4.7, defendant’s return receipt will also be presented. Failure to make proof of service shall not affect the validity of the service. The sworn acceptance or waiver of the defendant, or his appearance, shall make said proof unnecessary.
Rule 4.9. Amendment
At any time in its discretion and upon such terms as it deems just, the court may allow any process or proof of service thereof to be amended, unless it clearly appears that material prejudice would result to the substantial rights of the party against whom the process issued.
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