Court Papers Not Affixed to Tenant's Door

May 31, 1996

LVT Number: 10645

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed defective service of court papers. The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and reopened the case. Landlord's process server had been instructed not to post petition papers in tenant's building. After two attempts at service, the process server therefore placed copies of the papers under tenant's apartment door instead of affixing them to the door. The process server also mailed copies of the court papers to tenant by certified and regular mail.

Landlord sued to evict tenant for nonpayment of rent. Tenant claimed defective service of court papers. The court ruled for tenant and dismissed the case. Landlord appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlord and reopened the case. Landlord's process server had been instructed not to post petition papers in tenant's building. After two attempts at service, the process server therefore placed copies of the papers under tenant's apartment door instead of affixing them to the door. The process server also mailed copies of the court papers to tenant by certified and regular mail. This was proper service. The fact that the process server's sworn statement indicated that the papers were affixed to the door, even though they weren't, didn't make service defective.

Park Holding Co. v. Adler: NYLJ, p. 30, col. 2 (5/1/96) (App. T. 1 Dept.; Ostrau, PJ, Freedman, Davis, JJ)

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