Michael ran a stop sign and hit a car, allegedly injuring people in it. Michael and his wife lived in Granite Falls, Washington at the time. Michael later lost his house in foreclosure. He moved in with his dad, and on a few nights slept at this brother’s house in Everett. Shortly afterwards Michael and his wife moved to Arkansas.
At some point Michael’s dad filed a request with the US Postal Service to forward all the family’s mail – including Michael’s – to Michael’s brother in Everett.
The injured parties filed a personal injury lawsuit a week before the statute of limitations ran. An investigator discovered the request to forward mail to Michael’s brother in Everett. The injured parties served Michael’s brother with pleadings. Michael was living in Arkansas by that time, and did not and had never lived with his brother in Everett.
Michael did not deny receiving the document. Nevertheless, the trial court dismissed the case and the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal.[1] Actual receipt is not the same as legal service.
The statute of limitations is not fate to be tempted. We make every reasonable effort to settle before – and after, for that matter – filing a personal injury lawsuit. However, if a case has not settled, our policy is to file it well before the statute of limitations runs. Contact us for more information about the statute of limitations or any other questions you may have about a personal injury claim.
By personal injury attorney Travis Eller