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SERVICE: WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR SERVING DOCUMENTS ON OTHER PARTIES IN THE LAWSUIT?
You must give the other parties to your lawsuit a copy of every document that you file with the Court. This is referred to as “serving” or “service on” the other parties. It is critical that you serve your papers to the other parties in exactly the way the law requires. The rules for serving the complaint are different from the rules for serving other documents. If the complaint is not properly served on the defendant, the case will not proceed and can be dismissed by the Court.
The plaintiff is responsible for making sure that the summons and complaint are served on the defendant(s) within the time period set by the Summons. This is called “service of process,” and it is the method used to notify the defendant that a lawsuit is pending. Detailed instructions about how to serve a summons and complaint can be found in Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7004. If these instructions are not followed correctly, the case can be dismissed for failure to comply with FRBP 7004.
How does the Court know when the summons has been served?
The person who serves the summons and complaint must file a “Certificate of Service” document with the Court. The Certificate of Service is a statement, made under oath, explaining when and how service on the defendant(s) was completed.
How will I know if the Complaint has been received by the Defendant?
If you serve the summons and complaint by certified mail, you will receive the green certified mail receipt from the post office after the summons and complaint have been delivered.
How do I obtain a Summons?
After filing the Complaint, the clerk will issue a Summons to be served with the Complaint. You must complete the Certificate of Service and file it with the Bankruptcy Court before service is valid on the defendants.
Tip: You are responsible for obtaining valid address information about where service can be made on each defendant. If the defendant is a business, you may be able find information about where service is accepted (sometimes called a “registered agent” or “agent for service”) through the Secretary of State in the state where the business is registered. For Oregon, the Secretary of State can be found at www.filinginoregon.com. Many companies will have their Registered Agent in Delaware. While the Court is somewhat forgiving about the actual content of a complaint, service issues are critical and must be strictly followed. As some of the judges have said, “there is no such thing as too much service.” The addresses below for student loan cases are the best information that is available at the time of this posting, but each attorney or pro se litigant must be diligent about verification of the most recent service addresses for the relevant entities. In most cases it is not necessary to serve the companies which are merely servicing your loan(s) though it does not harm to do so. Also, if an attorney wants to talk with a servicer about a student loan matter most of them have their own custom consent forms which can usually be found on the servicer web site. Navient will usually require a notarized Power of Attorney.
Different rules apply for serving the United States, United States officers or employees acting in their official capacity, and foreign, state, or local governments. Make sure to review FRBP 7004. For student loan complaints, service may include service on the United States. Please see service addresses under “Student Loan Cases” which follows.
What documents do I need to serve on the Defendant(s)?
Youare required to serveacopyof thecomplaint plus copies of all of thedocumentsissuedbytheClerk’sOfficeatcaseinitiationon each defendant.
Generally, the list of documents to be served includes:
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Complaint;
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Summons, issued by the Clerk of the Court;
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Discovery and Pretrial Scheduling Order
(When your case is assigned to a judge, the Court will issue a Discovery and Pretrial Order that outlines the steps the parties must take next and the deadlines by which they must be completed. Some of these requirements involve communicating with the opposing party only, and some involve meeting with all of the parties and the assigned judge.)
What is a Certificate of Service?
After service of the complaint and summons is completed, you are required to file a “certificate of service” (also called a “proof of service”) with the Court that shows when and how the complaint, summons, and other required documents were served on each defendant. The certificate of service allows the Court to determine whether service met legal requirements. It must contain:
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The date that service was completed;
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The place where service was complete;
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The method of service used;
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The names and street address or e-mail address of each person served;
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The documents that were served; and
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The dated signature of the person who actually served the complaint and summons.
For example, if you hired a process server, the certificate of service must be signed by the process server. The person who served the documents must swear under penalty of perjury that the statements in the certificate of service are true.
STUDENT LOAN CASES
If you are seeking to discharge a student loan, you are required to serve the summons and complaint the US Department of Education, the United States Attorney General, and the United States Attorney for the district where the action is filed.
All defaulted Direct Loans are held by the US Department of Education (ED). Defaulted FFEL Program loans may be held by ED or by a guaranty agency such as Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC). Defaulted Federal Perkins Loans may be held by a school or by ED. ED’s Default Resolution Group, at Federal Student Aid, oversees the collections process for all defaulted loans that are held by ED.
Tip: You are responsible for figuring out whether your loan is privately owned or federally owned in determining who to properly serve, including any guarantor. Determine this by visiting the Federal Student Aid loan site at https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment . You must establish an account (see “Create Account” at the top right of the screen.) If you have loans missing from this report, they are private loans. You can also pull your free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com to see if you have others listed on your credit report not detailed on this report. You can also call the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243.
Attorneys! The servicers will want a Consent Form or notarized Power of Attorney authorizing you to speak on behalf of the borrower or to obtain loan information. See the separate Authorization forms attached. Visit the websites listed under “Collection for Student Loans” for more information.
COLLECTION FOR STUDENT LOANS
This list is most of the student loan servicers and a sample of some of the consent forms. Some companies service only federal loans while others such as Navient service both private and federal. In either case, Navient will require a notarized Power of Attorney. With the other servicers, the websites should be consulted as some of them have different forms for private loans and federal loans and Edfinancial has one form for Direct Federal loans and another for other federal student loans. (This information is subject to change – Please review the websites for updated telephone numbers and information).
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American Education Services |
1-800-233-0557 |
www.aessuccess.org |
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FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) |
1-800-699-2908 |
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Granite State – GSMR |
1-888-556-0022 |
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Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. |
1-800-236-4300 |
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HESC/Edfinancial |
1-855-337-6884 |
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MOHELA |
1-888-866-4352 |
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Navient |
1-800-722-1300 |
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Nelnet |
1-888-486-4722 |
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OSLA Servicing |
1-866-264-9762 |
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Education Credit Management |
1-888-221-3262 |
SERVICE FOR ALL FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS
Documents must be sent by FIRST CLASS AND registered or certified mail to:
United States Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530
United States Attorney for the District of Oregon
ATTN: Civil Process Clerk
1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204
Service on US Department of Education:
U.S. Department of Education
Office of General Counsel
400 Maryland Ave. SW Room 6E353
Washington DC 20202-2110
United States Department of Education
Litigation Support
50 United Nations Plaza
Mail Box 1200 – Room 1240
San Francisco, CA 94102
Student Loan Creditor Addresses for Correspondence:
Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC)
PO Box 16408
St. Paul, MN 55116-0408
Phone: 1-855-810-4922
Web: https://www.ecmc.org
Navient Department of Education Loan Servicing (Federal Direct Loans)
P.O. Box 9635
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9635
(800) 722-1300
Navient Department of Education Loan Servicing (Private Loans)
P.O. Box 9640
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9640
(888) 272-5543
SERVICE FOR PRIVATE LOANS AND GUARANTORS
Common private loan creditors can usually be served using these addresses, but make sure that your loan is held with National Collegiate or Navient before service. If a different entity, they will have different service requirements:
Navient Solutions, LLC
c/o Corporation Service Company, RA
251 Little Falls Drive
Wilmington DE 19608
302-636-5401
National Collegiate Student Loan Trust
Registered Agent: Wilmington Trust Company
Rodney Square North
1100 N Market St.
Wilmington DE 19890
Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC)
c/o CT Corporation System, RA
780 Commercial St SE Ste 100
Salem OR 97301
Navient Solutions, LLC
c/o John Remondi
President and CEO
123 Justison Street, Suite # 300
Wilmington, DE 19801