A Baltimore teacher is dragging a right-wing social media star into court on the very platform that made her famous. After months of failed attempts to track down the defendant, the teacher’s legal team won permission to serve court papers through TikTok, a move that came only after process servers tried in-person visits, certified mail and email without getting any response.
Judge Signs Order Allowing Service On TikTok
On June 23, Baltimore County Circuit Court Judge Ralph L. Sapia signed an order that lets lawyers for teacher Alexa Sciuto serve Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik by posting a legal notice on TikTok at least once a week for three consecutive weeks and tagging @LibsOfTikTok each time. The order also requires mailing notices to multiple addresses and publishing the notice in a local newspaper, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Sciuto filed her defamation lawsuit in 2025, naming Raichik, several Maryland state delegates and local Moms for Liberty leaders. The complaint says that their online posts damaged her professional reputation and employment, according to CBS Baltimore.
Lawyers Publish The Notice After Traditional Attempts Fail
Process servers told Sciuto’s team they could not locate Raichik at a listed luxury condominium or at a business address, which prompted the motion asking the court to approve an alternative way to serve the lawsuit. “I don’t want to win against a party who doesn’t show up,” attorney Nick McDaniels said, explaining why he wanted to be sure Raichik received notice before the case moved forward. His firm then created a TikTok account specifically to post the court-approved notice, according to The Baltimore Banner.
Courts Have Approved Alternative Service Before
Judges have signed off on unconventional forms of legal service before when defendants could not be reached through standard methods. In 2013, the Southern District of New York allowed service via Facebook in a case involving foreign defendants, according to an opinion available on Justia.
Maryland courts also permit alternative service when a plaintiff shows reasonable diligence in trying traditional approaches. Judges can order posting or publication, and the state’s form for requesting that relief spells out the affidavit and notice requirements under Rule 2-122, according to Maryland Courts.
What This Means For Local Teachers
Sciuto’s lawsuit stems from a viral exchange she recorded after attending a parents’ rights event in Towson. Her complaint alleges that posts and reposts by activists and elected officials falsely cast her as making threats, which she says led to fallout in her professional life, according to CBS Baltimore.
Legal analysts say courts are still treating service through social media as a last resort, not a new default. Judges usually require a showing that an electronic method is likely to give the defendant actual notice, a point highlighted in commentary on the earlier Facebook ruling by law firms and legal analysts such as Crowell & Moring.
Next Steps
Sciuto’s lawyers have started posting the weekly TikTok notices authorized by the court. Once they file proof that they followed the judge’s instructions for TikTok, mail and newspaper publication, the court will review any responses or motions from the defendants, and the case will move along the usual litigation track.
The order highlights how judges are adjusting long-standing procedural rules for a digital world while still trying to safeguard basic due process, including the core question of whether a defendant truly received notice.
