ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT WAS AMBIVALENT ABOUT WHEN HE WAS SERVED, THE MOTION TO DISMISS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DENIED ON THAT GROUND, IT IS PLAINTIFF’S BURDEN TO DEMONSTRATE A DEFENDANT WAS TIMELY SERVED WITH A SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint because defendant was not timely served should have been granted. The defendant was ambivalent about when he was served and the motion was denied on that ground. However, it is the plaintiff’s burden to prove when service was made:
… [T]he defendant Malka Hayut averred that she had been served on May 12, 2016, more than 120 days after the filing of the summons and complaint, and the defendant Meir Marc Hayut (hereinafter the appellant) averred only that he “may have been served” on May 12, 2016. … [T]he Supreme Court, inter alia, denied that branch of the defendants’ renewed motion … to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against the appellant [Meir], on the ground that the appellant was equivocal as to whether he was timely served.
The burden of proving that personal jurisdiction was acquired over a defendant rests with the plaintiff … . Although the failure to file an affidavit of service with the court pursuant to CPLR 308(4) is generally a procedural irregularity which may be cured … , in this case, the plaintiff did not cure the defect. In the absence of evidence that the appellant was properly served, that branch of the defendants’ motion which was pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(8) to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against the appellant for lack of personal jurisdiction should have been granted … . Deb v Hayut, 2019 NY Slip Op 02676, Second Dept 4-10-19