Can she ignore petition?

[Mamacass]

We have filed a motion (in Virginia) to stop relocation and also to change custody from the mother to the father.  We received our summons on August 7th and assume that the BM had hers delivered the same day.  Now since she's looking to move, she was actually out of town until the 12th (looking at houses and preparing for her move).  Last night she called the house to talk, but acted like she never received the summons!  We are pretty sure she has received it b/c of some of the comments she made, but she never directly mentioned it.  We think she is going to pretend she never got it.  

1. If she says she didn't get it, and doesn't show up for court, does this mean the case gets drawn out longer, or do we automatically win?

2.  Should we give her a copy of the summons so as to keep her from pretending she didn't receive it?

[socrateaser]

>1. If she says she didn't get it, and doesn't show up for
>court, does this mean the case gets drawn out longer, or do we
>automatically win?

There is no such thing automatic win in a family law custody-related action. Even if the other parent fails to appear, you must still prove your case to the judge.

VA courts apply some of the weakest law in the nation regarding parent-child relocations. The reality is that unless you have actually obtained a restraining order as part of your motion to show cause, then the other parent is free to move regardless of your motion, and the court will deal with the status quo living arrangements, whatever they may be when the hearing is held.

Without knowledge of the specific facts of your case, I can't comment on your likelihood of prevailing in your motion, but based on VA case law in this area, I can say that in general, the moving parent must do something pretty damaging to the child's interests, before the court will refuse to allow a move, and once the child is relocated, the chance that the court will demand the child's return is very, very law.

>2.  Should we give her a copy of the summons so as to keep her
>from pretending she didn't receive it?

Generally, a motion to show cause requires personal service by a third party, so your providing actual notice of the hearing would likely have no legal effect. I don't know VA civil procedure, so I can't be definitive in my opinion here, but what I've just stated is the general rule in most jurisdicdtions.

However, if the other parent has been served, then the process server must file proof of service with the court, so the evidence of service will be available to the court and there will be no way to deny it, short of subpoenaing the server to testify and proving that service did not in fact occur. By then, however, the person attempting to prove defective service will have actually appeared in the action, by virtue of attempting to disprove service, thereby making service effective for a hearing on a subsequent date.