Serving Gary Condit

Serving former California congressman Gary Condit can be a real pain.

Consider documents newly filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix. The documents itemize the exhaustive efforts made by process servers trying to reach Condit in connection with a lawsuit filed by Baskin Robbins. Baskin Robbins, having won the suit, is now trying to recoup expenses as well. In doing so, the ice cream company sheds light on the elusiveness of a former public figure and the persistence of a process server.

The three process servers reported they tried reaching Condit, his wife and his children at:

7:10 pm on 5/18/06
10:30 am on 5/19/06
10 am 5/22/06
7:54 am on 5/25/06
9:16 am on 5/30/06
10:04 pm on 6/4/06
10:35 am on 6/6/06
11 am on 6/10/06
9 am on 6/13/06
8 pm on 6/17/06

The steadfast unresponsiveness may sound familiar, to anyone who remembers Congressman Condit's approach to the 2001 disappearance of one-time intern Chandra Levy. The process servers did note that:

"On some attempts, there was a small child who appeared at the window by the front door, but no adult responded when I asked for the Condits."

Finally, the Baskin Robbins attorneys called in the U.S. marshals for the job. And now, the Condits are on the hook for the all the time and hassle.

Comments

[Jay Kluger]

It's shocking that it took process servers more than 10 times to serve Condit. I read that they had to call in Federal Marshalls.

[Michael Doyle]

You are correct. The Baskin-Robbins' attorneys eventually called upon the U.S. marshals, who also had difficulty contacting the Condits before they were finally able to serve the documents.