Lawsuits, Legal Claims & Subpoenas
Legal Claims and Lawsuits
The University occasionally is named as a defendant in a lawsuit or as a respondent in an administrative proceeding or other external complaint process. After a complaint has been filed in court or with an administrative tribunal, the plaintiff or complaining party must provide the University with notice of the lawsuit by serving a copy of the complaint upon the University. This action is called "service of process" and normally is accomplished by hand-delivery of a summons and complaint to the University by a "process-server". A complaint is a document that generally sets forth the allegations in the case and is filed with a court or administrative tribunal to commence a legal action. A summons is an order to appear in court.
All process-servers must be directed to the General Counsel's Office where the General Counsel or a member of the legal staff will sign for the summons and complaint and ensure that the lawsuit is appropriately assigned and handled. University faculty and staff are not authorized to accept service of process on behalf of the University.
Subpoenas
The University often receives subpoenas that require it to produce documents, require staff members to appear as witnesses with documents ("subpoena duces tecum") in court cases or require staff members to give a deposition ("deposition subpoena"). The General Counsel's Office accepts services of subpoenas in cases involving the University.
Subpoenas requiring documents about students in cases not involving FGCU should be sent to the Registrar's Office for processing. Subpoenas requiring documents about employees in cases not involving FGCU should be sent to the Office of Human Resources. All other subpoenas seeking information relating to the University or one of its direct support organizations must be directed to the General Counsel's Office.
Subpoenas are usually delivered in person and the person accepting delivery may be required to sign. Please note that this signature is simply to confirm delivery and does not mean that the person who receives the document will be held personally responsible for providing that information. That person, however, is responsible for ensuring that the document is passed on promptly to the General Counsel's Office or other appropriate office.
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