Now, this is Top of The Curve...Facebook Profile Used to Serve Legal Docs in Australian Case

Facebook profile used to serve legal docs in Australian case By Jacqui Cheng | Published: December 16, 2008 'Tis the season to be in debt, fa la la la la, la la la la. If you've missed a few payments, however, you might find yourself being hunted down by debt collectors and lawyers looking to serve you court papers. And now—at least if you live in Australia—your Facebook account is fair game. The Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court has approved the use of Facebook to serve legal documents to a couple who was otherwise inaccessible at their home or by e-mail, although the couple has since disappeared from the social networking site as well. The unnamed Australian couple had defaulted on their home loan for AUS$100,000 (almost US$67,000), which spurred the bank to seek the services of Canberra-based law firm Meyer Vandenberg. Attorney Mark McCormack was assigned to the case and unsuccessfully attempted to contact the couple several times at their home, and then again via e-mail. With nowhere else to turn, McCormack asked the Australian court to allow him to serve the papers electronically to the couple via Facebook. McCormack argued that he knew he found the right people online because they listed their birth dates, full names, and they had listed each other as friends, according to the AFP. This was apparently enough to convince the judge, who said that McCormack could serve the couple Facebook papers as long as he also left them at their last known address and also via e-mail. His law firm confirmed to the news organization that the papers were delivered today, adding that they believe this is the first time Facebook has been used for such a purpose. "We believe it's certainly the first time in Australia... and we haven't heard of it being done anywhere internationally," the firm said. Of course, Facebook isn't exactly the most reliable way to get in touch with anybody, so it's possible that not much will come of this. In fact, as pointed out by the Associated Press, the couple's profiles have since disappeared from public view (they may have simply made the profiles private or deleted them altogether). Personally, if I had defaulted on a home loan and was attempting to avoid being served, I would have made my profile private a long time ago—but hey, to each his own. Originally from http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081216-facebook-profile-used-to-serve-legal-docs-in-australian-case.html