Franklin County Municipal Court Rules That Certified Mail Practice During Pandemic is not effective service of process

Effective August 1, 2022, the Franklin County Municipal Court issued an administrative order which will have a far and wide impact on cases in which a default judgment was entered as a result of service by the US Postal Service during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The issue at hand is the return of service for most summons and complaints issued via certified mail by the US Postal Service.  Early during the pandemic, the USPS instructed their mail carriers to simply obtain the first initial and last name of an individual at a place for service, deliver to that party, and then indicate the same on a form along with the words “Covid19” or “C19” in lieu of the true recipient’s signature.

Can you guess what happened next?  This policy resulted in hundreds of default judgments being issued throughout Ohio courts after the proof of service return indicated “valid service” with the words “C19” scribbled on the certified mailing receipt.

This practice went on for nearly two years. As a result, many judgments were issued by default against parties who were not properly served. 

Moreover, in July of 2022, Administrative Order 04-22 was issued indicating that any such service with the words “Covid19” on a signature line reflecting delivery on or after April 1, 2022,  shall be deemed invalid. 

Finally, it was ruled that no default judgment shall be granted if the signature line of a certified mailing receipt indicates the same, if delivered on or after April 1, 2022. If a default judgment was issued as a result of the improper service as defined in the order, the court will hear any properly filed motion to vacate.

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