Judge Michael Ciaffa
Metropolitan insured a car owned by its subrogors. The vehicle was damaged in a collision in Nassau County. Metropolitan brought suit against driver Pierre-Canal and owner Wellington of a second vehicle. Wellington was served with the suit at his dwelling in Brooklyn, and Pierre-Canal at her dwelling in Suffolk. The court noted in District Court matters “valid service” can be made outside of the county only in limited circumstances, ruling the Uniform District Court Act (UDCA) provided that service of a summons should be made only within the county unless service beyond the county can be authorized by the act. It concluded it may exercise personal jurisdiction over Pierre-Canel, noting while she was served in Suffolk, her vehicle was involved in the collision in Nassau, allegedly resulted from her negligence. As the complaint alleged a claim arising from “the commission of a tortious act” by Pierre-Canel within Nassau, service outside Nassau under the UDCA was permitted. Also, the driver’s negligence was imputed to owner through vicarious liability as she drove the car with his permission. The UDCA allowed the court to exercise long arm jurisdiction over defendants. Yet, proof of the facts constituting the claim remained deficient, and a default judgment was denied.
