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Policy Name: Affidavit of Events Policy, Procedure, and Instruction

Lauch Date: 3/23/2021

Last Update: 3/23/2021

Author Name: Gerri Gentilquore

Author Title: Director of Compliance

Version: 1.0

Purpose

Affidavit of Events (AOE) is a special document prepared for certain circumstances. One such circumstance is when the vendor fails to timely return an executed Affidavit, the other is when the client may need an accounting of electronic information contained within FAST regarding a specific file. This document does not outline all reasons for the need of such an item, but rather explains how to provide a complete AOE. The Procedure in this document will outline the most common form of AOE which is associated with lack of timely return of an executed Affidavit by a vendor. The same basic format should be used for all other AOE.

Responsibilities

Client Relations Team, Compliance Team, and Management of any given department based upon need.

Escalation Point of Contact

Director of Client Relations, Director of Compliance, or another applicable Director

Policy

In the event a vendor may not timely return an executed Affidavit, or upon other needs such as an affidavit of electronic records contained within FAST, or as a custodian of records of EZ Messenger (EZM), an AOE may be prepared. This AOE must be prepared within a specified format to ensure uniformity and continuity of information provided while maintaining any necessary confidentiality. AOEs are prepared upon client request, in response to Subpoena, as an informational item, or in response to other forms of discovery.

AOEs will be factual in content. No speculative information will be added or inserted by EZM staff except as may be contained within a statement presented by other parties. An example would be speculative information contained in an attempt made by a vendor such as ‘There was no answer when the attempt was made, but there were two cars present, so someone was obviously home’. This must be included in the AOE as the speculation was directly provided to our system by a vendor. Speculative information that is not part of a pre-existing system note, automated process notation, or attempt by a vendor should not be included. Procedural information is permitted.

AOE will follow the format example attached to this Policy. Slight deviation may occur based upon the exact nature of the request.

Procedure

All AOEs are prepared based upon individual request with information corresponding to the exact case, job, and service in question. All data must be present when preparing this AOE with attention to any special or additional requests from the requestor. All instructions for preparation must be followed. AOE’s must be maintained in FAST in the specific job, or in SharePoint or other form of shared document storage when the AOE is not specific to jobs within FAST. A completed AOE must be signed and dated by the preparer. AOEs should only be prepared when other forms of documentation are not feasible.

Instructions

• Download the AOE template word document, open it, and make sure it is editable. Then go to the corresponding job in FAST.

• In FAST, generate a workorder and use the ‘snipping tool’ in windows to snip the barcode. Trim this very close to the edges of the barcode. Remember to allow the job number to remain. Delete the sample barcode in the AOE template, then copy this job’s barcode from the snipping tool and paste it into the top left corner of the template.

• In the template, use the information in the workorder and FAST to replace the case caption (plaintiff, defendant, etc), case number, court, any hearing date, or additional case identifiers required to complete the case caption appropriately. You may need to refer to a copy of the documents as provided by the client.

• Begin working your way thru the body of the document by changing the name in the first paragraph to your own.

• Look up the vendor profile in FAST to obtain information on the vendor. You will need their name and the month/ year in which they started working for EZM. Replace this information in paragraph numbered ‘1’. If this is not regarding a vendor, use this line for similar information such as an employee name and hire date, or date they began in a specific job title.

• In paragraph numbered ‘2’ replace the information in the template with information for the job you are working on. Include the date the job was accepted by vendor, who was being served and at what address, as well as the document list.

• Begin adding numbered paragraphs for each statement needed. One statement should be inserted for every attempt made. Statements should be in this basic format: Date/ time of attempt/ serve, name of the vendor, what the result of the attempt was, and a thumbnail copy of the photo taken by vendor during attempt. Continue adding numbered paragraphs for every attempt. Sample text – copy from here to end of section g: On (insert date) at (insert time) (vendor name) attempted service at the given address and reported the following: (insert exact text of attempt). (GPS, time and date stamped thumbnail of photo taken at time of attempt.)

• If the item was served, the numbered paragraph containing this information should include: date/ time of serve, name of the vendor, who was served and how, the complete description as provided in FAST, any ‘service comment’ that was entered, and a thumbnail copy of the photo taken by vendor at the time. Sample text – copy from here to end of section h: On (insert date) at (insert time) (vendor name) attempted service at the given address and reported service was successfully completed upon (servee name) by service (type of serve, if subserve, upon whom and title) and provided the description of: race, sex, hair, height, weight, age. (GPS, time and date stamped thumbnail of photo taken at time of attempt.)

• If the attempts had no photos, state so in each attempt and in your next numbered statement. If all attempts were correctly photo’d you can use this statement – copy from here to the end of section i: The attempt and service information as well as all photos were submitted by (insert vendor name) via our (insert how). The metadata shows the uploads occurred at the given address.

• Include any other pertinent information. Always include full names of persons you are referencing, dates, and times. Sample item: EZ Messenger has attempted to contact (vendor name) to obtain a signed affidavit for this service but has been unsuccessful thus far.

• Include a statement of accuracy / inaccuracy of data. Sample item: Based upon the electronic data transmitted to and stored by EZ Messenger by the vendor, as well as the description provided by (vendor name), I am confident (or not confident) personal service has been completed as reported.

• Make sure the penalty of perjury statement is appropriate for the court state/ county and has the current date and the county you are in.

• Update the information contained in the signature section. Keep the address for EZM as that of our OKC office.

• At the very bottom update the client name and reference number.

• Print your updated version of the document to a color .pdf and save it to your PC for e-signature, or print it, sign it and scan it. Label it ‘jobnumAOE’ (3158416AOE.pdf).

• In the job screen in FAST, access the ‘Scans’ and ‘Attach New Doc’.

• Email copy as needed to whomever requested the item and notate you have done so in FAST.

References

AOE template

#affidavits