Legal question (personal, not political)

[OneGrassRoot]

I'm sure I'll use the wrong terms, but the gist of the story is this:

My father was in a motor vehicle accident a couple of years ago, with moderate injury, and filed suit against those responsible for the accident.

He was living in Tennessee at the time, and the accident occurred in western NC. The suit sat on the desk of the Tennessee attorney for a long time until the attorney decided that an NC attorney needs to take the case.

Two weeks after the paperwork got to an NC attorney who agreed to take the case, my father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away (not related to injuries from the accident).

My dad never expected to gain much from the suit - perhaps enough to cover his medical expenses at least - but I'm determined to not let it just drop, knowing that my dad had suffered from the accident and put time and money into bringing the suit.

The NC attorney is telling me they (local law enforcement) haven't been able to serve the parties being sued.

What can I do to move this forward and not let the locals just ignore legal paperwork and act like nothing happened, especially since they know my dad has now passed? I know local law enforcement will often tell people they know, who are to be served to just "lay low and keep your nose clean and I won't have to serve you." Not that those involved are necessarily criminals in any way, but still...

Any suggestions as to what I can do that won't involve more expense? I don't have funds for anything. Should whatever my dad has already paid cover other means of having these people served if the normal routes don't work?

Many thanks in advance for suggestions and insight.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. If the only thing holding up the case is service of the complaint, can you

either hire professional process servers or serve the papers yourself? Each state has rules on how to serve effectively in order to legally stamp a defendant and compel them to court.

[taterguy]

2. Don't rely on the Internet for legal advice

There are two posts in this thread and it's already filled with really bad advice

[philosophie_en_rose]

3. There are alternative ways to serve documents.

Ask your attorney about moving to serve by mail or publication. It may not be allowed in your situation, but it's worth mentioning.

Also, consider a private service agency.

[izzie]

4. I think your father's ins. should have done this.

Does the state have an ins. dept.? I would look into that. Maybe he already did as he started the case and you did not state anything about ins.