Relevant Cases

• Burke v. Zorba Diner, 213 A.D.2d 577

Applies When

• A person is served at the address listed on their DMV record

Summary

The defendant in the case argued that they were not served at their place of residence and the service should therefore be invalidated. The address the defendant was served at was the address on their DMV record.

The Court ruled that because NY law requires that every licensee notify the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of any change of residence within 10 days, the defendant was barred by collateral estoppel from claiming the address on his driver license was not his residence.

As a result of this case, process servers may drop serve or Nail & Mail documents at an address listed on a person’s motor vehicle record, even if they have knowledge that the person does not live there, or that the premises is vacant.