Public Serving on Olivia Wilde by Jason Sudekis: One Family Attorney Weighs in on Appropriateness

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Daryl Weinman of Weinman Family Law

For your upcoming op-ed pieces and interviews, please consider Daryl Weinman of Weinman Family Law in regards to the case on Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis and weighs in on whether or not it was appropriate for Wilde to be served publicly onstage. She can comment on the following hot topics:

-Was it right to serve Olivia on a public place?

-Should a parent be served in front of their children?

-Could the spectacle impact custody rights?

-How do processors choose where to serve?

-Will impacting a partner’s work performance affect custody rights?

Weinman states:

“I agree with the attorney interviewed about the incident in all respects. 

First, it is the choice of the attorney serving the opposing party about how, when and where they will get served — the attorney instructs the process server about what they are requesting, gives him photos, addresses, schedules, descriptions of cars, descriptions of other persons who are likely to be around, etc. and then tells them how, when and where to get them served. 

I agree that when someone (like Steve Garvey) is dodging service, and/or when they live in gated, walled, security homes, they have body guards around, and they will not allow a process server to get close, we have to look at other options — and maybe a public encounter will eventually be necessary. However, there is nothing in this article to indicate that the woman served had evaded in any way, or that they had even tried at all prior to this public spectacle.

I agree that the #1 priority should be to avoid serving a parent in front of the children, or even in a way where the children will become aware that a parent was served or that there is a pending custody case. In this case, the children are 8 and 5 and were probably watching Mommy either in person or on TV and so they probably saw this happen and will ask about it — or if not, other people who saw it will either tell them or talk about it in front of them. It was totally unnecessary to make them aware — especially if it is something like an enforcement action (where one parent is alleging that the other parent violated the order and should be held in contempt) because then the kids will eventually be made aware that daddy is requesting that mommy be sent to jail — not a beneficial scenario for anyone. 

I also agree that how parents treat each other will considered as a factor in making a custody determination — so it won’t score any points for the dad in his bid for custody that he handled service this way.  Plus, impacting the other person’s employment is not beneficial to the kids.  Even though I didn’t see it, serving her while on stage and speaking to a large crowd had to have impacted her focus and performance — which is what she is getting paid to do. 

Anything that negatively affects her ability to work, her reputation, public embarrassment, will ultimately affect the kids.  They are likely to hear about it from third parties and could potentially be shamed or embarrassed themselves.”


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