Gated communities like the upscale neighborhoods found in Florida have become very popular around the country. These gated communities are usually high-end places to live with expensive Homeowner’s Association fees that contribute to creating a private and protected environment for all residents. The gates themselves are typically manned by guards who require proof of residency or permission from a current homeowner in order to enter.
All of these elements make it very hard for a process server to do his job. As one process server in Scottsdale, Arizona explained, high-end communities in many areas deny process servers the right to enter at all. Any process server knows that delivering papers is often like a game of cat-and-mouse in which the process server must learn the recipient’s schedule in order to arrive at a time when the person can be physically reached.
Gated communities are making this an impossibility and preventing diligent process servers from completing the job that is required of them by the courts. From foreclosure notices and divorce papers to speeding ticket summons, living in a wealthy enough neighborhood can indeed shield residents from going to court.
Those who run the homeowner’s associations in charge of denying access to process servers explain that it is within their legal rights to deny entry to anyone who will cause a disruption, and in their opinion process servers will ruin the atmosphere of peace and privacy that residents count on. They don’t want a server talking to neighbors or peeking around the corner with binoculars.
Process servers counter these claims by explaining that all homes are private property, and if that prevented papers from being served in all situations then the judicial system as we know it would come to a grinding halt.
Though some states have adjusted their laws to clarify that guarded and gated communities cannot restrict process servers from entering and doing their job, other states are not jumping on board. Many process servers are advocating for this necessary change to ensure equality for all.
