[LINK] Canberra Lawyers Serve Reposession Order Via Facebook

[Chris Maltby]

> On 17/12/08 3:47 PM, "Chris Maltby" <chris at sw.oz.au> wrote:
>> I think it's probably legally "reasonable" to assume that the facebook
>> ids are associated with the people involved, and thus they might have to
>> provide evidence that they weren't served when the bailiffs show up and
>> break down the door.

On Wed, Dec 17, 2008 at 05:54:38PM +1100, Eric Scheid wrote:
> The question I would want answered would be what if they no longer use
> facebook, what if they don't even remember what their password is?

I guess an inactive facebook profile would be obvious enough...
I'm not trying to downplay the negatives of this kind of thing, but
just point out that the problems are similar to those faced in the
"real" world by people who have the job of serving notices on people
who may be reluctant to receive them...

> Similarly, if the only email address you can find for someone is from an
> ex-employer, would it be valid to send the service notice to that address -
> even though it might well bounce, be redirected to /dev/null, or forwarded
> to whoever is now in charge of that department (and subsequently filed into
> their wtf/spam spam folder).

> Is it acceptable to serve notice via regular post, to an address which no
> longer exists, or whose tenants have no knowledge of past residents?

I guess it isn't - there appears to be a need to have a witness to
the serving of the documents. Whether facebook is sufficient is something
that would presumably be challengable - the mind boggles at how a
typical magistrate/judge/appeals court would weigh the evidence...

Chris