A routine service turns bizarre when a resident insists that the person Alan is looking for doesn't exist. The only problem? The evidence says otherwise. Sometimes the hardest part of serving papers isn't finding people—it's convincing others they're real.
One of the first lessons in civil process is that people will say almost anything to avoid involvement with court paperwork.
On this day, Alan arrived with a straightforward assignment and a name on a set of legal documents. What followed was a conversation so unusual that it quickly earned a permanent place in the story collection.
According to the resident, the person named in the paperwork wasn't there. In fact, they claimed he wasn't real at all.
As the conversation continued, the explanation became harder and harder to reconcile with the facts standing right in front of Alan.
The Constable Files – Episode 6: He's Not Real is a true story about denial, persistence, and one of the more creative explanations ever offered during a service attempt.
In civil process work, people can hide, they can dodge, and they can make excuses.
But claiming someone doesn't exist may be a new category entirely.
