Oz couple served legal docs via Facebook
Tracked to social networking site
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An Australian couple who allegedly defaulted on a AU$100,000 loan and face having their house repossessed have been tracked down on Facebook, the BBC reports.
Canberra lawyer Mark McCormack asked a judge to allow legal papers to be served to an email address he found on the woman's Facebook account. She and her partner - listed as a "friend" on the social networking site - had previously failed to respond to correspondence sent to their home address and via email. They also failed to attend a court hearing on 3 October.
McCormack argued in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court that details on the Facebook page, including the woman's date of birth, proved she was the "person in question". A judge agreed, but "stipulated that the papers be sent via a private email so that other people visiting the page could not read their contents".
McCormack said: "It's somewhat novel, however we do see it as a valid method of bringing the matter to the attention of a defendant."
The BBC notes that while Oz courts have in the past allowed "legally binding" documents to be served via email or "even text message", this is the first time Facebook has been deployed as a legal tool.
The site has of late proved rather useful Down Under in bringing ne'er-do-wells to justice. A Melbourne restaurant owner recently used it to nail a group of bill-dodgers who'd done a runner from his upmarket establishment. ®
Note to wannabe fugitives from justice...
Rule 1: Disable your Facebook account.
COMMENTS
AC Re: lol@ have friends comment
Aw, you signed up and no one added you, isn't it? It's OK. Let it all out, don't be shy. We're all friends here. Well, except me.
lol@ have friends comment
Yes, if you are friends with sheep who have big egos.
Congratulations, does it make you feel young and hip or something? Yes, congratulations, you are in the club that like 80% of the UK is in. (Half of whom probably only signed up to view one single photo/profile one day, then never 'used' the account again)
Why exactly is being a member something to be proud of ? You upload some photos, you leave a comment. People like you who manage to spend hours and days on sites like that are frankly pathetic. To boast about is just well... I can forgive you if you're 14.
Wow
By inference:
In Oz it's illegal to lie on Facebook.
In Oz, it's illegal to not check your email.
In Oz, it's illegal for you to turn off your internet connection.
In Oz, it's illegal to have a computer breakdown.
In Oz, it's illegal for any router on the internet to malfunction.
I could go on and on...
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