Defendant Waived Objection to Service By Failing to Raise it in Pre-Answer Motion to Dismiss

On May 4, 2021, the First Department issued a decision in J.G. Jewelry Pte. Ltd. v. TJC Jewelry, Inc., 2021 NY Slip Op. 02747, holding that defendants waived an objection to service by failing to raise it in a pre-answer motion to dismiss, explaining:

Supreme Court properly found that service of process was effected. Defendants, business entities organized in India, waived the defense that service upon their corporate officers while visiting Hong Kong did not comport with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters, by failing to assert it, with specificity, in connection with their initial pre-answer motion to dismiss.

(Internal citations omitted).

The rules regarding how you start a lawsuit and bring the defendants into it can sometimes be esoteric. As shown here, there are rules regarding how long a defendant has to move for dismissal based on improper service. Contact Schlam Stone & Dolan partner John Lundin at jlundin@schlamstone.com if you or a client have a question regarding the proper way to serve a defendant, bringing them into a lawsuit, and what to do if the defendant .