Court Date set-- but defendant has changed address

What is the name of your state? NY

I'm suing a publishing corp in Manhatten --so my papers are filed but the defendant who is a corporation has changed business address in Manhatten.

1) Dose this mean I will have to Refile?

2)should I re-file?

3) can the defendants claim they were not served?

Thanx in advance--

Were they already served?

You don’t have to re-file because the defendant moved, but you must get the defendant served in a timely manner (your papers probably tell you what “timely” means in this situation – eg. 10 days before the hearing, 15 days etc.). If you haven’t made timely service, explain to the court on the hearing date that the defendant moved. It’s very probable that the court will continue the hearing to a new date at least once to allow you to effect service at the new location.

While it doesn’t seem likely that your corporate defendant would be that hard to serve, when relocating within the same city, if you’re having problems, consider serving the registered agent. Every corporation authorized to do business in your state has one and being a source to receive process is one of its functions. The identity and address of the registered agent is always public information. Most commonly, it’s published on the website for your Secretary of State. If service is an issue, look there. It doesn’t even matter if the registered agent’s address is not the same as the corporate address. Service on the registered agent of a corporation is good service.

Only if service problems exist and continue so long that the court dismisses your case will you have to think about re-filing. The court would dismiss without prejudice, and you would have to start fresh.

DOS Process --address

Thanks for that quick reply--
OK-
I filed using the business address which is also listed as this;

DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)

So-- dose this mean that I'm OK?

dcatz said:

While it doesn’t seem likely that your corporate defendant would be that hard to serve, when relocating within the same city, if you’re having problems, consider serving the registered agent. Every corporation authorized to do business in your state has one and being a source to receive process is one of its functions. The identity and address of the registered agent is always public information. Most commonly, it’s published on the website for your Secretary of State. If service is an issue, look there. It doesn’t even matter if the registered agent’s address is not the same as the corporate address. Service on the registered agent of a corporation is good service.

Click to expand...

Under registed agent-- it is listed as "none" but there is a name and address listed under;

DOS Process (Address to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity)

So this should be OK?

The court date is March 3-- Will the court let me know if there is a problem?

A little confusing, but I would think that you're ok.

I read it as saying that DOS Process is/was the registered agent. A corporation is always required to have one and, if DOS was and had quit, a normal record would read "resigned".

If DOS is the registered agent, it's their responsibility to forward process on to their client. Getting it to them in a timely fashion is all that's required of you.

If there is a problem, the court will let you know but on the hearing date. That's when it will know whether or not it has proof of good service (you could make service weeks before the hearing and not file it with the court until the day before, so it's a timing problem.)

Go to the hearing prepared to present your case. The court will either hear it or continue the hearing because it doesn't have good proof of service.

Good luck.

OP – I remembered your other posts. Hope you’re still checking the thread. This is about photos and, while you’re suing someone in NY, you’re not in that state. As I recall, you’re in my state - CA.

If that’s still the case, let me add a bit more than “go to court and see if service was made”. If you’re traveling from another state, there is more that you can productively do. I didn’t consider the possibility.

We don’t know how you tried to make service – process server, friend in NY, had the court try service by mail or what. Your court date is in March. If you used any of the above means, more than a month is ample time to make service and file a return. If you used a process server or a friend, they can tell you if they served and filed a return. If you asked the court to mail and that process is already in motion, the court should know in less than two weeks whether it has a mail return. The court won’t flag problems for you, but you can call the court. Service by mail is cheap, but it’s far from the best and most certain.

I haven’t checked what “timely service” means in NY SC, but let’s assume that it’s “not less than 10 days before the hearing”. If the NY court can’t confirm that it has a service return by 2/11-2/13, you might want to cover your bets by using a process server. You don’t get penalized for serving twice, if that’s what happens. The cost of a server should be well under a $100, even for a one-time client. The cost is recoverable as part of the judgment, if you prevail. A server should have no problem serving a corporation and should be able to confirm to you within 24-48 hours that it was done. Faxing a NY server a copy of the papers given to you would be sufficient documentation for them to use.

Adjust inquiry dates according to the advance time that’s required. Just a thought, if you’re traveling to NY.

Good Idea

-- So if I have friend serve them what is involved?-

dose he have to leave the filing? with who? at the new address or the Address on the corporate filing ( to which DOS will mail process if accepted on behalf of the entity) ?

How do I find a good process server in NYC?

Thanx so much

Ok, first problem – the needed website is “under maintenance” and I can’t give you statutory cites.

To use a friend and learn what he/she has to do, you need to look here (when it works):
http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi

Look under N.Y. Civ. Prac. Laws & Rules for “service of process”. It should be easy but isn’t at the moment.

Your friend must be over the age of 18 and not a party to the action.
“In New York, anyone at least 18 years old who is not a party to the action can serve papers unless a law or court order provides otherwise (N.Y. Civil Prac. L. & R. § 2102)”.
I would speculate that other NYCPL&R sections in the same numeric range would give additional information.

The following is the only reference to the required Proof of Service that I found:
http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/nyc/civil/forms/affserviceendorsedpersonal.pdf
I can’t guarantee that it’s current or generally applicable.

A normal corporate service requirement is to serve any officer, authorized agent or, in the absence of any, the Person In Charge and authorized to receive documents for the company. If a PIC is served, you may be required to mail as well.
Check the NYCPL&R on this as well, but the affidavit appears consistent.

Here is a link to the process server’s association for NY:
http://www.processserversassociation.com/countylst_code.asp?state=New_York

As an alternative, just google (service of process)+(New York), and you’ll have more results than you want. I noted that some have “800” numbers, if you’re calling from CA. If you come up dry, try to PM me and I can make some inquiries, but I’m not always posting. I doubt that you’ll have a problem or a dearth of resources in Manhatten.

If it were me, as a lawyer, I’d use a professional. A friend is cheaper but inexperienced in serving and preparing the follow-up paperwork. Additionally, with a registered server, there is an evidentiary presumption of validity. In plain language, if service is challenged, the law treats the return of a registered server as valid, and the burden is on the defendant to prove that it wasn’t. That presumption does not exist in your favor when you use a friend.

Again, good luck, but feel free to post any other questions that you have. Anyone can help.

OK-- This company has filed bankruptcy papers is it all over?

Just got the notice of chapter 11 filing-- meeting of creditors for the corp I'm suing the filed on Feb 7 -- I had filed the small claims in January. I had a small claims date on March 3-- is that still good or even worth going to? This is in New Yor City