Facebook is not an acceptable way to serve someone with a summons, an Australian court has ruled, meaning rapper Flo Rida may have dodged nearly $400,000 in damages to organizers of an Australian music festival where he no-showed in 2011.
The rapper was contractually obligated to perform at the the Fat as Butter fest, where he was apparently paid upfront by Mothership Music Pty Ltd. After numerous attempts to serve the lawsuit by traditional means — several via email — the Down Under lawyers elected to file the summons over Facebook.
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Though a judge instructed the organizers to try the Facebook route, it didn't fly in the NSW Court of Appeal on Tuesday. The appeals judges concurred that a Facebook page, no matter how official it may be, is not an appropriate means for serving papers.
"The evidence did not establish, other than by mere assertion, that the Facebook page was in fact that of Flo Rida and did not prove that a posting on it was likely to come to his attention in a timely fashion,” Justice Robert McFarlan of the New South Wales Court of Appeal said in his reasons for judgment.
Previous judgments for the Plaintiffs were set aside — for now — as a result of the appeal.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.