Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Service of Process

Delivery of a writ, summons, or other legal papers to the person required to respond to them.

Process is the general term for the legal document by which a lawsuit is started and the court asserts its jurisdiction over the parties and the controversy. In modern U.S. law, process is usually a summons. A summons is a paper that tells a defendant that he is being sued in a specific court that the plaintiff believes has jurisdiction. Served with the summons is a complaint that contains the plaintiff's allegations of wrongdoing by the defendant and the legal remedy sought by the plaintiff. The summons also informs the defendant that he has a specified number of days under law to respond to the summons and complaint. If the defendant does not respond, the plaintiff may seek a default judgment from the court, granting the plaintiff the legal relief specified in the complaint.

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