2011 Vermont Code
Title 15 Domestic Relations
Chapter 21 ABUSE PREVENTION
§ 1105 Service

§ 1105. Service

(a) A complaint or ex parte temporary order or final order issued under this chapter shall be served in accordance with the rules of civil procedure and may be served by any law enforcement officer. Abuse orders shall be served at the earliest possible time and shall take precedence over other summonses and orders. Orders shall be served in a manner calculated to insure the safety of the plaintiff. Methods of service which include advance notification to the defendant shall not be used. The person making service shall file a return of service with the court stating the date, time and place at which the order was delivered personally to the defendant. A defendant who attends a hearing held under section 1103 or 1104 of this title at which a temporary or final order under this chapter is issued, and who receives notice from the court on the record that the order has been issued, shall be deemed to have been served.

(b) If service of a notice of hearing issued under section 1103 or 1104 of this title cannot be made before the scheduled hearing, the court shall continue the hearing and extend the terms of the order upon request of the plaintiff for such additional time as it deems necessary to achieve service on the defendant. (Added 1979, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), { 1; amended 1981, No. 218 (Adj. Sess.), { 2; 1993, No. 228 (Adj. Sess.), { 3; 2005, No. 193 (Adj. Sess.), { 6, eff. Oct. 1, 2006; 2007, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), { 12.)