Judge Katherine Levine
The sole issue was if Civil Court obtained personal jurisdiction over insurer Allstate, who was served in Long Island, while the record was devoid of evidence of whether it was a resident of New York City. Allstate moved to vacate a default judgment alleging it should have been served at its Brooklyn office as it transacted business in NYC. It argued it was improperly served, could not answer the complaint, and the court failed to obtain jurisdiction over it. The court noted Civil Court Act §403 limited service of process to NYC except as otherwise provided by the Act. CCA §404 expanded this limitation without regard to city or state lines provided Allstate transacted business within NYC and the cause of action arose out of this business. The court noted while there did not appear to be precedent specifically addressing the interplay of §§403 and 404, the plain meaning of the statutes mandated that service be effectuated within NYC if Allstate was a resident of one of the city’s counties, noting service may be effectuated outside the city only if Allstate submitted proof it was a non-resident. As no such evidence was proffered, Allstate failed to meet its burden of showing plaintiff failed to obtain jurisdiction, its motion was denied.
