Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Re: civil lawsuit

Generally the answer is yes. However, there are various kinds of proceedings that can be commenced by mail or delivery to an agent of your designation, for instance, a corporation authorized to do business in New York designates the Secretary of State who sends it to the address specified.

Small claims court frequently uses mail service, and you may also consent to mail service where the statute of limitations and jurisdiction are not issues.

Re: civil lawsuit

In NY, papers that initiate an action or proceeding (i.e., summons and complaint, notice of petition and petition) must be served on the individual defendants. Once an attorney has put in an appearance on behalf of that party, however, then all papers after that will simply go to the lawyer. Exceptions: you have a corporation or other business entity and have designated you lawyer to accept service of process on behalf of that entity with the secretary of state. Another exception is if a lawsuit is initiated with an Order to Show Cause and the proponent of the application can convince the Court to order that service may be made on the party's known legal counsel. Another exception is if a party cannot find and serve you and they request the Court designate the manner of service and they convince the Court that there is nobody at your last known address and the only information they have is that you were represented by that attorney.

Re: civil lawsuit

If you are already represented by counsel for an ongoing lawsuit, it is possible that your lawyer was legally served on your behalf.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultation with a lawyer in our office.