An unnamed Toronto actress has sued Harvey Weinstein, Walt Disney and Miramax on
allegations of sexual assault from about 20 years ago. The
problem is that Weinstein's whereabouts are unknown and the
actress was unable to serve Weinstein with notice of the
lawsuit.
The general rule, under the Rules of Civil Procedure (the
"Rules"), is that when a party initiates a lawsuit (the
"plaintiff"), with an originating document such as a
statement of claim, the statement of claim has to be served
personally on the accused party who will be defending the claim
(the "defendant"). For example, if it is an individual
who is being served, a copy of the document must be left with the
individual, or where a corporation is being served, a copy of the
document must be left with an officer, director or agent of the
corporation or someone who appears to be in control or management
of the business.
