Unifund CCR LLC v. Seifullah

Unifund CCR LLC, Plaintiff-Respondent, against Akala Seifullah, Defendant-Appellant. Defendant appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Marian C. Doherty, J.), entered April 24, 2019, which denied her motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction. Per Curiam. Order (Marian C. Doherty, J.), entered April 24, 2019, modified, with $10 costs, to the extent of remanding the matter for a traverse hearing to determine whether defendant was properly served. While plaintiff's affidavit of service constitutes prima facie evidence of proper service (see Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v Njoku, 148 AD3d 438 [2017]), defendant's sworn affidavit disputing that there was a male individual by the name stated in the affidavit of service or anyone living in the apartment matching the description of the person served, was sufficient to rebut plaintiff's prima facie showing and necessitates a traverse hearing (see NYCTL 1998-1 Trust & Bank of NY v Rabinowitz, 7 AD3d 459, 460 [2004]). Thus Civil Court should have conducted a traverse hearing before resolving defendant's motion to dismiss (see Richardson v Lopez, 154 AD3d 617 [2017]). THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT. I concur I concur I concur Decision Date: November 18, 2019