As I have mentioned previously, I used to work as a banking litigator. This frequently involved chasing up reluctant debtors and trying to serve them with court documents. People came up with amazing ploys to avoid service – assuming other identities, pretending to be terminally ill, hiding. On one occasion, my only contact for a serial loan defaulter was a mobile phone number. I seriously considered texting the writ to the defendant, but in the end, sought a different form of substituted service.
Obviously, social networking sites are great for finding friends…but if you intend to try to avoid legal proceedings, you should beware. A clever lawyer in the ACT has successfully applied for substituted service via Facebook. I imagine most other jurisdictions will allow substituted service in these circumstances too. I wonder how the service is to be effected. Will the lawyer write out the writ on the debtors’ Walls? Or just e-mail it to them?