System and Method for the Automated Distribution, Management and Service of Court-Related Documents

• US 20120095890A1
• Filed: 02/17/2011
• Published: 04/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Santarlas Global LLC
• Original Assignee: Santarlas Global LLC
• Inventors: Santarlas, Thomas E.
• Application Number:
  US13/029,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20120095890A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/18 Legal services

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method for managing, distributing, and serving court-related documents. The system is operated by a host and utilized by a number of different entities that are involved in effecting service of court-related documents such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, petitions and warrants. By way of the system, these court-related documents can be electronically distributed and ultimately served in an efficient manner. The system also permits the automated invoicing and billing for service related activities. The archiving of data related to effecting service can also be carried out by the present system. In still yet another embodiment, the system can automatically send emails including a status of service report, an affidavit of service and/or a proof of service as an attachment.

Claims

1. A system for managing, distributing, and serving court-related documents, the system being utilized by a number of different entities, including subscriber companies (SC), law service providers (LSP), clerks of court (COC), and process servers (PS), with each of the entities communicating over a computer network and a court sponsored e-filing system, the system comprising the following steps:

the SC receiving a job request, job details, and court-related documents from an LSP over the network;

the SC either accepting or declining the job request based upon the job details and the court-related documents;

notifying the LSP via the network whether the SC has declined or accepted the job request;

providing a database accessible by the SC, the database graphically listing all accepted jobs, the assigned PS, the job details, the court-related documents, and any uploaded attachments;

the SC delivering the court-related documents for an accepted job to the COC via the court sponsored e-filing system, the COC issuing service copies of the court-related documents;

the SC assigning an accepted job request to a particular PS and delivering the job request, job details, and service copies of the court-related documents to the assigned PS via the network;

the PS retrieving the service copies of the court-related documents from the SC via the network;

the PS attempting to serve the service copies of the court-related documents and providing status updates regarding the attempts to the LSP via the network;

after completing the service of the court-related documents, the PS generating an affidavit of service and affixing his/her electronic signature;

automatically sending an email to the LSP with the affidavit of service or proof of service included as an attachment, the affidavit of service and the proof of service can evidence the service or non-service of legal documents.

2. The system as described in claim 1 wherein a status of serve report can also be automatically sent via email.

3. The system as described in claim 1 further comprising an automated invoicing module for automatically invoicing an LSP and processing invoice payments from an LSP, the invoicing module carrying out the following steps:

providing a database of payment terms established by the SC, the payment terms including amounts to be charged on the basis of job details and the court-related documents, the payment terms further including when the invoice is payable and the applicable late fee;

generating an invoice for an LSP on the basis of an accepted job, the invoice being automatically generated in accordance with the established payment terms;

determining whether the LSP providing an electronic payment and permitting the SC to either approve or decline the electronic payment;

determining whether the invoice payment from the LSP is late by referencing the established payment terms;

automatically computing the late fee in the event the invoice payment is late, the late fee being computed with reference to the established payment terms;

electronically delivering an updated invoice to the LSP, the updated invoice reflecting approved or declined electronic payments, and applicable late fees.

4. The system as described in claim 1 further comprising an archiving module for permitting a SC to access and store archived data relating to job requests, the historical data including job details, court-related documents, field sheets, affidavits of service, requests for service, uploaded attachments, and invoicing and payment information, the archived data initially being stored in a host database, the archiving module carrying out the following steps:

accepting a request for archived data from a SC and prompting the SC to provide an archived period;

prompting the SC for payment, the payment being determined, in part, on the basis of the archived period;

accepting and confirming payment from the SC;

permitting the SC to download the archived data once payment is accepted and confirmed;

permitting the SC to access and store the downloaded data locally in an archived file format;

erasing the downloaded data from the host database after it has been accessed by the SC.

5. A system for managing, distributing, and serving court-related documents, the system being utilized by a number of different entities, including subscriber companies (SC), law service providers (LSP), clerks of court (COC), and process servers (PS), with each of the entities communicating over a computer network, the system comprising the following steps:

the SC receiving a job request and court-related documents from an LSP over the network;

the SC assigning an accepted job request to a particular PS and delivering the job request to the assigned PS via the network;

the SC delivering the court-related documents to the COC, the COC issuing service copies of the court-related documents;

the PS retrieving the service copies of the court-related documents via the network;

the PS attempting to serve the service copies of the court-related documents and providing status updates regarding the attempts;

automatically sending an email to the LSP with the status updates included as an attachment.

6. The system as described in claim 5 further comprising an automated invoicing module for automatically invoicing an LSP and processing invoice payments from an LSP, the invoicing module carrying out the following steps:

providing a database of payment terms established by the SC, the payment terms including when the invoice is payable and the applicable late fee;

generating an invoice for an LSP on the basis of an accepted job;

determining whether the invoice payment from the LSP is late by referencing the established payment terms;

automatically computing the late fee in the event the invoice payment is late, the late fee being computed with reference to the established payment terms;

electronically delivering an updated invoice to the LSP, the updated invoice reflecting approved or declined electronic payments, and applicable late fees.

7. The system as described in claim 5 further comprising an archiving module for permitting a SC to access and store archived data relating to job requests, the historical data including job details, court-related documents, field sheets, affidavits of service, requests for service, and invoicing and payment information, the archived data initially being stored in a host database, the archiving module carrying out the following steps:

accepting a request for archived data from a SC and prompting the SC to provide an archived period;

permitting the SC to download the archived data;

permitting the SC to access and store the downloaded data locally in an archived file format;

erasing the downloaded data from the host database after it has been accessed by the SC.