http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/technology/aussie-lawyers-to-serve-notices-on-facebook/2008/12/16/1229189582412.html

I am in two minds about this.

On one side it means d*******s who try and dodge being served have no excuses especially since most of them have a facebook page.

But then again who is to say the person being served is them? Who's to say someone doesn't make up a fake page for someone and then the real person gets in trouble for not appearing?

Plus, who is going to add a server as a friend haha

Lawyer writes on your wall... you've been served!

You have to be friends with someone to write on their wall, don't you?

this is retarded, I don't even check facebook. It's not like a standard thing that Australians are required to have. I guess since it's been in the media that's all the politicians and lawyers have heard of and might even think it is all the Internet consists of.

Plus if you never logged into facebook and had email notifications disabled you'd be none the wiser.

Normally a legal form must be served to a party in person or at their registered legal address.

There is also an option called substituted service whereby if you cannot serve it to a party in person certain substituted means are acceptable, like publishing a notice in a metropolitan paper, or service at place of employment.

This development is retarded though because there is no proof that the name of the party being served is actually being used by that person on facebook.

To underpin the proceeding of a legal case on this basis is completely flawed.

I can imagine there will be a lot of cases of courts being too lazy to track someone down, so they just send out a memo on the internet, and then pat themselves on the back for getting the job done, and wipe their hands of all responsibility.
It seems like courts to a large extent are already like that. They've made the decision before the case even starts based on what seems probable and what the judge can get away with, and it's just wham-bam, case closed, pay your court fees.... Next!

Wow, this is utterly retarted. I can't count the number of people I know who have Facebook profiles/accounts, but basically never check them.
Hell, a mate only added me as a friend after about 4 weeks, along with a dozen others.
And yes, considering that Facebook requires no actual verification a person is who they say they are makes this even more ridiculous.

this is retarded, I don't even check facebook

wow thats convincing, that must mean everyone on facebook doesn't check it


on a serial note, this is retarded

I don't even know what you're on about pavegay.

^^ hunter v2.

if it's debt collection I reckon let the lawyers go for it!

I'm surely no expert, but I can't see it being used for much else successfully

"The Facebook profiles showed the defendants' dates of birth, email addresses and friend lists and the co-defendants were friends with one another," a spokesman for the firm said.

This information was enough to satisfy the court that Facebook was a sufficient method of communicating with the defendants.

lol

On one side it means d*******s who try and dodge being served have no excuses especially since most of them have a facebook page.

if I got some sort of legal summons thing sent to me on facebook I would delete it immediately thinking it was spam - I prolly wouldn't even read it

Can you even send messages to people that aren't your friends?

It isn't hard to 'serve' people.. plenty of ways of going about it... Generally the people wanting to serve the documents know a bit about the individual and more often then not they use said info..

'oh hey John, its me craig, we used to goto school at brisbane state high' etc... once the identify themselves as being the guy, you check if they're still living at kenmore or whatever then you touch them with the envelope and recieve the old 'whats this??' remark and tell them as you walk away... (heh its more fun on a tube platform in london)

Meyer Vandenberg hired private investigators to serve the judgment on the couple and advertised it in The Canberra Times. But after 11 failed attempts to find the couple at their Wyselaskie Circuit home

Quality PIs!

if I got some sort of legal summons thing sent to me on facebook I would delete it immediately thinking it was spam - I prolly wouldn't even read it

I think we missed what this now says about Facebook..

and it's reminded me of why I didn't start my own FB page :P

This is so rediculous!

And all the scaremongers would have us believe that we might not even get social networking sites once the net censor/filter whatever comes it.

So find something else lazy lawyers of the world!