Independent Contractor Agreement

This Independent Contractor Agreement (“Agreement”) is between Court Runner Inc (“Court Runner,” “we,” “us” or “our”), which operates the Court Runner USA platform, and you, a process server who applies to work through the platform (“you”). Our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy also apply. By submitting your application or accepting a job, you agree to this Agreement.

Your status as an independent contractor

• You work as an independent business, not as an employee, agent, partner or joint venturer of Court Runner.
• You control how you do the work, including your methods, your hours and your schedule.
• Each job is offered to you. You decide whether to accept or decline each job offer and each quote request. Nothing in this Agreement requires you to accept any number of jobs.
• You are free to offer your services to others, outside the clients you meet through Court Runner USA.
• You are responsible for your own taxes. Court Runner does not withhold income tax, Social Security or Medicare from your pay, and you are not entitled to employee benefits from Court Runner.
• You provide and pay for your own vehicle, phone, tools and equipment, and you pay your own expenses, including travel.

Licences, registration and insurance

• You must hold a valid licence, registration or appointment wherever the state, county or court where you serve requires one, and carry insurance where it is required.
• You must keep each of them current and upload proof of each, with its expiry date, in your account. Our team reviews each record.
• You receive new job offers in an area that requires a licence, registration, appointment or insurance only while we have approved current proof of it. When a record expires, offers in that area stop until we approve a renewal. Jobs you have already accepted are not affected.
• Tell us right away if a licence, registration, appointment or insurance policy is suspended, revoked or cancelled.

Attempts and affidavits

• You follow the laws and court rules that apply to each service.
• You record each attempt accurately and at the time it happens, with the time stamp, GPS location and photos the platform asks for.
• You sign only affidavits that are true and accurate. Never sign an affidavit for a service or an attempt that did not happen exactly as described.
• Where the state or court requires it, you have your affidavit notarized or completed before another officer authorized to take oaths.

Confidentiality

Client documents and the personal information in a job, including the details of the person being served, are confidential. You may use them only to complete that job. Do not copy, share or keep them beyond what the job needs, and delete any copies you made once the job is closed, unless the law requires you to keep them. Tell us right away if documents or personal information from a job are lost or seen by someone who should not see them.

Pay

• Per job. For each job you are paid your own fee for the job’s state, as set in your account, plus your share of any add-ons on the job. For a special job, you are paid the amount you quoted. You see the payout for a job before you accept it.
• When you are paid. Pay is sent through Stripe Connect after the job closes. A job closes once the 48-hour hold after you deliver the signed affidavit has passed, as long as no problem report is open and, where the client ordered a mailed original, you have marked it as mailed.
• Open problem reports. While a client’s problem report is open, the payout for that job is paused until Court Runner reviews it and decides.
• After 3 attempts. If service is not completed after 3 documented attempts and you deliver a signed affidavit of non-service, the job closes and you are paid as for any other job.
• Mailed originals. When a client orders the original signed affidavit by mail, you mail it and pay the postage. Your share of that add-on is part of your pay for the job.
• Sales tax charged to clients is never deducted from your pay.

Deductions

Court Runner deducts from your pay only for an error that is proven after our review, such as a refund to a client caused by your error. Before a deduction becomes final, we tell you what happened and the amount, and you have a chance to respond.

Clients and the platform

• Do not contact a client directly, ask for a client’s contact details, or accept payment from a client outside the platform. Court Runner coordinates each job.
• Do not solicit clients you met through Court Runner USA to use your services outside the platform, and do not accept work from them outside the platform.

Suspension and ending this Agreement

• You may stop working through the platform at any time. If you have accepted jobs, complete them or tell us right away so we can assign them to another server.
• We may suspend your account or end this Agreement if you break this Agreement, the Terms of Service or the law, or if your licence, registration, appointment or insurance no longer meets the requirements where you serve. We tell you the reason.
• Jobs you completed before a suspension or the end of this Agreement are paid as described above, including the 48-hour hold, any open problem report and any deduction.

Changes to this Agreement

We may update this Agreement. Each update is published as a new version, with its date at the top of this page. You must accept a new version before you accept your next job offer or send your next quote. Jobs you have already accepted continue under the version you accepted. We keep a record of which version you accepted and when.

Governing law and disputes

If you have a concern about this Agreement or a job, contact us first through our contact page so we have a chance to resolve it informally.

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, without regard to its conflict of law rules. Either party may bring a claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Other disputes that are not resolved informally will be decided by online arbitration.

Contact us

If you have a question about this Agreement, contact us through our contact page. You may also reach us at info@courtrunnerusa.com.