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YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Not a friend request: British judge says that legal claims can be served via Facebook

    By Raphael Satter, The Associated Press | Associated Press – Tue, Feb 21, 2012

    LONDON - Status update: You're sued.

    Legal authorities said Tuesday that a High Court judge in England has approved the use of Facebook to serve legal claims.

    Lawyers in a commercial dispute were last week granted permission to serve a suit against a defendant via the popular social networking site.

    Justice Nigel Teare permitted the unconventional method of service during a pretrial hearing into a case which pits two investment managers against a brokerage firm they accuse of overcharging them.

    A former trader and an ex-broker, Fabio De Biase and Anjam Ahmad, are also alleged to have been in on the scam.

    Jenni Jenkins, who represents Ahmad, said lawyers in the case had been trying to track De Biase in order to serve him with legal documents. She said that a copy of the suit was left at his last known address, but that it wasn't clear whether he was still living there.

    The lawyers didn't have his email address, so they applied for permission to send him the claim through Facebook.

    Jenkins, an associate with London-based law firm Memery Crystal, said the lawyers were confident that de Biase's account was still active.

    "The counsel told the judge that someone from the firm had been monitoring the account and they'd seen that he's recently added two new friends, which made the judge chuckle," she said.

    De Biase was given extra time to respond to the claim "to allow for the possibility that he wasn't accessing his account regularly," she added.

    Ordinarily, British legal claims are served in hard copy — either in person, by mail, or by fax — although unconventional means are occasionally employed if the people involved are hard to pin down.

    In December, a British judge made headlines for filing an injunction against London-based protesters from the Occupy movement via text message.

    The Judicial Office for England and Wales confirmed Tuesday that Teare had allowed lawyers to serve their claim through Facebook. A spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to give her name, said it was the first time anyone had been served via the site "as far as we're aware."

    Facebook did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

    ___

    Online:

    Raphael Satter can be reached at: http://twitter.com/razhael

     

    10 comments

    • HRH The Countess of Harew ...
      HRH The Countess of Harew ...  •  3 mths ago
      What does Facebook mean?
      • RyanK
        RyanK 3 mths ago
        LOL! I love it. Great defense. Um.......yes.......what is this facebook you speak of your honor? I have no idea what that is. What? I can't stick my hands up a womens dress? What is this sexual harrasment you speak of? And theft? Pardon me, you mean that stuff aint free governor?
    • oilfieldworker
      oilfieldworker  •  3 mths ago
      LOL, that will work, only if that is the person and they read it and decide to show up. What happened to tracking people down and serving a warrant or arresting on the spot?
      • WhtsUrPt
        WhtsUrPt 3 mths ago
        Did you read the article?
    • TomM
      TomM  •  Maringouin, Louisiana  •  3 mths ago
      Fire a Judge & Lawyer today and do the world two favors. America was once a great nation until they allowed these scumbags to solicit and bottom feed. There was a time when an accident was an accident, not someones fault until these #$%$ all wanted to live in mansions on the coast.
      • bastage
        bastage 3 mths ago
        Really?

        Jefferson and Adams where both trial lawyers. John Adams provided defense for several British soldiers over the Boston Massacre.
      • Brian F
        Brian F 3 mths ago
        Tom, that's the best point I've seen online ever. That's the whole bowl of chili. Every accident now faces criminal charges first and police investigate later. Guilty until proven innocent.
    • Powmia
      Powmia  •  3 mths ago
      How can you PROVE that the actual Person on the Facebook account is actually the person you are looking for ?
      This goes to show how stupid the legal system is today
    • Brian F
      Brian F  •  3 mths ago
      It's time for the whole world to quit using facebook after this alarming situation. It forces one to use or have a computer or face contempt charges.
    • MissLee
      MissLee  •  Bakersfield, California  •  3 mths ago
      And this why, my friends, I don't have a facebook. What a bunch of #$%$ all of this is.
      • WhtsUrPt
        WhtsUrPt 3 mths ago
        Why? Do you break the law and someone is trying to serve you?
    • Leagues Williams
      Leagues Williams  •  3 mths ago
      I dont have facebook SO it looks like I have to be "served" the old fashion way! Yes deputies, that means you have to put down the donuts n coffee and drive out to my house! Mark Zuckerberg is a Satanic KOK sucker!
      • WhtsUrPt
        WhtsUrPt 3 mths ago
        Like Zuckerberg has anything to do with them deciding to serve a lawsuit. Jealousy does not become you.
      • Leagues Williams
        Leagues Williams 3 mths ago
        Ha far from jealousy my prude! This might be to much for your pea brain to handle but Zuckerberg is a CIA patsy! He created Facebook under the supervision and funding of the CIA! I know you can try to act like its not true because you didnt hear it in the news! Zuckerberg has everything to do with it my prude! Open your mind and do a little research!
      • Brian F
        Brian F 3 mths ago
        Not so fast! This sounds like some kind of attempt to require facebook registration.....i hope not.
    • Loren
      Loren  •  3 mths ago
      British it's time for you to cancel your subscription to Facebook, and American Obama is going to push for the same thing also. So Facebook first Yahoo will be second.
    • RyanK
      RyanK  •  Dallas, Texas  •  3 mths ago
      So what if your famous and have a manager running your account and never have logged in yourself? What if you mother simply uses your account for farmville, for herself? What if someone else has decided to become you and use your account. I have been a party to all three of these on facebook in one way or another. This would never hold up in American court at the end of the day. Keep in mind this is Britian, and they once awarded a chick half of her rich husbands money after only a few days of marraige saying length of time didn't matter. Their even nuttier then Americans.
    • Cliff
      Cliff  •  Beaverton, Oregon  •  3 mths ago
      yo baby yo.
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