ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO VACATE THE DEFAULT JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED, DEFENDANT DID RAISE A QUESTION OF FACT ON THE VALIDITY OF THE SERVICE OF PROCESS WHICH REQUIRES A HEARING (FOURTH DEPT).
The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate the default judgment on the ground defendant had not been properly served with the complaint should not have been granted. The matter was remitted for a hearing to determine the validity of the service of process:
” ‘Ordinarily, the affidavit of a process server constitutes prima facie evidence that the defendant was validly served’ ” … . Although ” ‘bare and unsubstantiated denials are insufficient to rebut the presumption of service . . . , a sworn denial of service containing specific facts generally rebuts the presumption of proper service established by the process server’s affidavit and necessitates an evidentiary hearing’ ” … . Here, the presumption of service was created by the affidavit of plaintiff’s process server, but defendant rebutted that presumption by submitting, inter alia, his sworn affidavit in which he averred that he had never been personally served, that since at least 2013 he had rented out the dwelling at the address reflected on the affidavit of the process server, that it had been rented to the individual reflected on the affidavit of service, that defendant “did not live or otherwise reside [at the address] in any form,” and instead that he had been living at another address at the time of the purported service. Contrary to plaintiff’s contention, defendant’s submissions raised ” ‘a genuine question’ ” on the issue whether service was properly effected in accordance with CPLR 308 (2) … . Garvey v Global Asset Mgt. Solutions, Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op 01664, Fourth Dept 3-19-21
