- Olivia Wilde was served with custody papers at CinemaCon as she took to the stage to present her latest film.
- A bailiff defended the woman serving Wilde.
- He shared what he had to do in the past to serve celebrities.
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CinemaCon delegates were shocked Tuesday when actress and filmmaker Olivia Wilde was served with legal paperwork during a presentation of her latest film.
She picked up a Manila envelope marked “Personal and Confidential” after an unidentified woman dropped it onstage. Wilde asked, “Is this for me?”
A source told that the documents were created to establish “jurisdiction” over the two children she shares with Jason Sudeikis, but that Wilde’s ex-fiancé “would never condone her on.” being served in such an inappropriate manner”.
Mike Kern, a California litigation server not involved in the case, told Insider the litigation service company’s method was warranted. He said his own Los Angeles law firm, Direct Legal Support, often has no choice but to take such drastic action.
“If these people don’t make themselves available and their manager doesn’t want to help us, we will do everything we can to serve them,” Kern said.
He’s served celebrities and knows how difficult that can be
The 52-year-old, who said he’s served documents to celebrities including Woody Harrelson and Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis, said it could be very difficult to get personal access to certain stars.
“They’re rich and they live in gated communities or have an estate,” Kern told Insider.
Some people, he added, are “deliberately hiding” to avoid having papers presented to them if they are sued.
In the meantime, even if he were able to approach them personally, they could refuse to accept the documents, which are usually subpoenas or complaints.
“Whether they’re a celebrity or not, I’ve been walking on people’s doors and they’ve been like, ‘I’m not taking it.’ In that case, just throw the papers right at their feet,” he said.
It is not uncommon to serve celebrities at public events
Like Wilde, Kern said he delivered newspapers to bold names at public events such as music festivals and film premieres.
“You find out they’ll be on the red carpet or at a book signing,” he said. “When they perform at a concert, you get front row tickets and serve them by dropping the papers on the stage.”
He occasionally invests in premium tickets for sporting events.
“If it’s a sports star, you might get tickets to a Lakers game or a San Francisco Giants game,” he said, adding that he once served as a football player for the Los Angeles Rams.
He said that in most celebrity cases — which could involve divorce, breach of contract, tax evasion or a traffic accident — the recipient is “cooperative.”
“They don’t want it to be aired on all social media,” he said. “They’re going to try to keep it rock bottom.”
Kern said his company often “stakes” celebrities and other wealthy people who are elusive, adding, “We sit outside their gates for hours until they do something like go to a coffee shop.” Then we will serve them there.”
But he said process servers must follow strict rules set by the state.
“Here in California, there are a lot of pre-text laws that can get you in trouble,” he said. “However, in the past people have used FedEx or UPS uniforms to get people out the door.”
According to Kern, attorneys pay him and his staff between $80 and “hundreds of dollars” an hour.
“You can charge $100 an hour just to wait in your car,” he said. “But if you do the graveyard shift between 11pm and 6am, the price goes up.”
He said many trial officials took home six-figure annual salaries.
“You can earn that amount in your first year,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kern told Insider that he was the victim of violence — but not from a celebrity.
“When I was much younger, I turned my back on this guy and he hit me in the head with a baseball bat,” he said.
As for the woman who delivered papers to Wilde at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, he claimed she acted professionally: “She got the job done.”