We continue with our Civil Procedure Reform Observatory. In previous chapters, we reviewed the requirements for filing a complaint and mandatory pre-trial mediation in certain matters. Now we move on to the next step: service of the complaint.

The question is simple but relevant: When does the defendant become a party to the lawsuit?

Article 260: The Summoning Formula

The text approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2014 contains an explicit provision on this point. Article 260, under the chapter titled “Service of Process,” states that the defendant shall be deemed legally served with the complaint when the complaint has been validly served and the period granted by law for filing an answer has elapsed.

First element: valid service of the complaint

Article 261 of the 2014 Chamber text states that if the complaint constitutes the first service of process in the proceeding, it must be served personally on the defendant; in all other cases, it must be served by registered mail.

Second point: the deadline for responding

Article 262 of the 2014 Chamber text establishes that the deadline for filing a response is 30 days if the defendant is served within the province where the court is located, 45 days if served outside that province, and 60 days if served outside the territory of the Republic.

Does the rule change if there are multiple parties?

According to Article 263 of the 2014 Chamber draft, with regard to multiple parties, the bill follows a logic similar to the current one: if there are multiple defendants, the time limit runs simultaneously for all of them until the expiration of the time limit for the last defendant to be notified; and if there are multiple plaintiffs, the time limit is extended by one day for every three plaintiffs out of ten, up to a maximum of thirty days.

A well-known rule, now systematized

The novelty, then, does not necessarily lie in revolutionizing the institution of service of process, but rather in expressly codifying it within the provisions governing declaratory proceedings. In short: the bill specifies in the legal text when the defendant is legally served with notice to appear in court.

* This is a bill currently under consideration, so its content may change before its final publication. The articles cited correspond to the text approved by the Chamber of Deputies in 2014, subject to any changes in numbering resulting from subsequent amendments.