Facebook used to serve legal notice

SYDNEY: An Australian lawyer has become the world’s first person to use a social networking website to serve legal documents.  Lawyer Mark McCormack used Facebook to serve an eviction notice on a couple — and an Australian supreme court then approved the move.

McCormack had tried several times to contact the couple by other means without success. The lawyer’s client had been given permission to repossess their house in Canberra, but Australian law requires anyone losing their home to be notified.
And after more conventional means failed, the lawyer opted for Facebook. He said: “It’s novel, however we do see it as a valid method of bringing the matter to the attention of the defendant.”

Australian courts have given permission in the past for people to be served via e-mail and text message when it was not possible to get to them in person. But this is the first time Facebook, a popular online community with more than 140mn users, has been considered adequate notice.

On Facebook, the most popular social networking site, friends can communicate in variety of ways, including sending private messages. They can also “poke” each other — a term for giving someone a playful nudge.

In April, a lower Australian court ruled against documents being served by Facebook as the option of contacting a person via post was not exhausted. In the new ruling, the judge insisted the documents must be attached to a private message sent that could not be seen by other members.