Hi,

I recently recieved a summons to court for operating a vehicle without insurance. I took a day off work to attend the court date on the ticket, but the officer did not show up or file any of the paperwork. I was informed that the cop needs to reserve the summons to me in person.

Today I guess he went to my apartment while I was away and basically stuffed a letter in my door saying I need to respond or he will issue a warrant for my arrest. whoa...

Just wondering what I should do here, is this the proper way to reserve a summon? Can I use this to my advantage at all?

Any info will be appreciated. Thanks

Stuffing it under your door is no way to serve it.

FYI, you CAN be arrested for missing a court date. It is not a threat.

Him not showing up does play well into your favour. It can help you plead down the fine if anything.

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"The more laws, the less justice" - Marcus Tullius Cicero
"The hardest thing to explain is the obvious"

www.OHTA.ca & www.OntarioHighwayTrafficAct.com

I thought there had to be proof, i.e. signature, of delivery?

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http://www.OHTA.ca OR http://www.OntarioTrafficAct.com

there is no signature required by a defendant on a offence notice or summons

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Above is merely a suggestion/thought and in no way constitutes legal advice or views of my employer. www.OHTA.ca

There was some controversy about what "personally served" meant, but this case I found basically said that leaving it in your mailbox is good enough... or, in this case... stuffing it under a door.

City of London v. Erdesz, 2009



This case seems rather unsual. You went to court but the charge was not filed and the officer did not attend... and now, correct me if I'm wrong, you're being charged again with the same offence?? Might be worthwhile to get a paralegal or even a lawyer. Was the letter an actual summons to appear in court or was it a letter?

The original charge was not proper and the officer has 3 years under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act to relay the charge.

If the officer wants to relay the charge they have to either personally serve you, or serve you substitutionally.

This means that they have to give the summons to someone apparently over the age of 16 years, at your last known place of abode.

If they didnt do that, the charge has not been properly served, and is not proper before the court.

You should speak to someone with legal training to properly learn about how to deal with this. Driving without insurance has a fine of 5,000 dollars with a victim fine surcharge (tax) of 1250 dollars.

I spoke to a few paralegals and they said the cop could have been sick and missed the court date etc. They have 3 years to relay the charge, but they need to do it in person.

I have been out of town for a week, when I returned to my apartment I found another letter of the same sort. The letter just states that I need to contact a phone # so that I can be resummoned to court. Failiure to respond MAY result in a warrant for my arrest. I also recieved 2 phone messages, 1 from a police officer and 1 from the an office relaying the same message.


I guess I will just have to call the # and get re served.