You are here: / / “John Doe” Party Who Was Not Served Waived Objection to Personal Juris...

“John Doe” Party Who Was Not Served Waived Objection to Personal Jurisdiction

The First Department determined that an informal appearance by a “John Doe” party who was not served with the complaint waives any objection to personal jurisdiction.  The action stemmed from plaintiff’s decedent’s drowning at Coney Island:

CPLR 1024 allows for the commencement of an action against an unknown party…. While the use of a John Doe designation does not exempt a plaintiff from the requirement of serving process on the intended defendant by an authorized method under CPLR article 3…, a defendant may appear informally by actively litigating the action before the court…. When a defendant participates in a lawsuit on the merits, he or she indicates an intention to submit to the court’s jurisdiction over the action, and by appearing informally in this manner, the defendant confers in personam jurisdiction on the court…. Thus, absent a formal “appearance” by a defendant, a defendant may nevertheless appear in an action where his or her counsel communicates a clear intent to participate… . Taveras v City of New York, 2013 NY Slip Op 05199, 2nd Dept 7-10-13

 

You might also like
PURSUANT TO THE DOCTRINE OF LACHES, THE DEFENDANT CITY WAS NOT ENTITLED TO THE LOWER 5.76% INTEREST RATE ON THE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR JUDGMENT; THE TRIAL JUDGE PROPERLY IMPOSED THE 9% INTEREST RATE PURSUANT TO CPLR 5004 (FIRST DEPT).
A COURT HAS THE DISCRETION TO GRANT A MOTION TO RENEW THAT IS NOT BASED ON NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE (FIRST DEPT).
THE ARRESTING DETECTIVE SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO IDENTIFY THE PERSON DEPICTED IN SURVEILLANCE VIDEOS AS THE DEFENDANT, NEW TRIAL ORDERED (FIRST DEPT).
JURY SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO CONSIDER A LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE AND AN ADVERSE INFERENCE INSTRUCTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN CONCERNING SURVEILLANCE PHOTOS DESTROYED BY THE POLICE, CONVICTION REVERSED (FIRST DEPT).
FAILURE TO TIE OFF LANYARD WAS NOT THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S FALL, ABSENCE OF A GUARDRAIL ON THE SCAFFOLD REQUIRED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION.
BIG APPLE MAP RAISED QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER THE CITY WAS AWARE OF MANHOLE-SIDEWALK DEFECT, SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AWARDED TO THE CITY IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE.
STATE’S EXPERT DID NOT ESTABLISH RESPONDENT SEX OFFENDER SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO CIVIL COMMITMENT, SUPREME COURT REVERSED. ​
THE THREAT MADE BY DEFENDANT WAS PERSONAL IN NATURE AND WAS NOT DIRECTED AT THE CIVILIAN POPULATION WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE TERRORISM STATUTE (PENAL LAW 490.20); THE CONVICTION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY LEGALLY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE AND WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE (FIRST DEPT). ​

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Prosecutor Need Not Accept Defendant’s Stipulation in Lieu of DNA Test Notice to Admit Improperly Sought Admission at Heart of Case