Bill Text: NY S09783 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Allows certain methods for service of process including by electronic means.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-05 - referred to judiciary [S09783 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09783-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9783 IN SENATE May 30, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT to amend the surrogate's court procedure act, in relation to allowing certain methods for service of process The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 307 of the surrogate's 2 court procedure act, as amended by chapter 355 of the laws of 2000, and 3 subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) and paragraph (e) of subdivision 3 as 4 amended by chapter 669 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as 5 follows: 6 1. Service by personal delivery. Service of the process may be made on 7 any person by personal delivery [to him] of a copy of the process either 8 within or without the state. 9 2. Service by registered or certified mail, [return receipt10requested,] or by special mail service[, upon non-domiciliaries]. 11 Service of the process may be made by registered or certified mail, 12 [return receipt requested,] or by special mail service, [upon non-domi-13ciliaries, whether or not they be natural persons] within or without the 14 state. 15 3. Service by court order. As an alternative to service under subdivi- 16 sions 1 and 2, service may be made in the manner directed by the court; 17 but such service, except as provided by subdivision 6, shall not be 18 ordered upon a domiciliary natural person unless it be shown that, with 19 due diligence, service [by personal delivery within the state] under 20 subdivision 1 or 2 cannot be effected, or where for good cause shown, 21 [personal service within the state] such service would be impracticable. 22 Any proof necessary hereunder may be submitted in the petition or by 23 affidavit. The court may take into account the size of the estate and 24 the remoteness of kinship of any person to be cited in determining the 25 appropriate due diligence necessary to permit alternate service under 26 this section. The court may direct service by any one or more of the 27 following methods, which shall not, however, be exclusive: 28 (a) service by publication, such as is provided by CPLR 316, subject 29 to 308 and 309, and to such variations of CPLR 316 as the court may 30 provide, except that EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09878-01-3S. 9783 2 1 (i) where persons are to be served by publication, publication in only 2 1 newspaper shall be required, or 3 (ii) where a person is alleged to be within a country with which the 4 United States of America is at war or a place with which the United 5 States of America does not maintain postal communication, the court may 6 direct that a copy of the process shall be mailed on behalf of such 7 person to the officer who may have been appointed to take possession of 8 the property of noncitizen enemies, or 9 (iii) where the person to be served is an absentee or alleged to be 10 deceased, the court may direct that in addition to the foregoing 11 requirements, the process be published in a newspaper published at or 12 near the place where the absentee was last known to be, or 13 (iv) in an adoption proceeding under article seven of the domestic 14 relations law or in a proceeding under section three hundred eighty- 15 four-b of the social services law, a single publication in only one 16 newspaper shall be sufficient. 17 (b) service by [mail, by registered or certified mail with or without18return receipt requested, or by any manner of special mail service, as19the court may direct] electronic means, as that term is defined by CPLR 20 2103(f)(2), bearing the caption of the matter in the subject line of 21 said transmission; 22 (c) substituted service such as is provided by CPLR 308 (2) and (4), 23 within or without the state, subject to 308 and 309, and to such vari- 24 ations of CPLR 308 as the court may provide; 25 (d) service within or without the state, by personal delivery to a 26 person duly designated by respondent to receive process in his or her 27 behalf, or to a person whose relationship, whatever its character, and 28 by blood or otherwise to the respondent, indicates in the circumstances 29 the probability that actual notice will reach the latter [through him]; 30 (e) if the interest of a non-domiciliary noncitizen in the estate is 31 less than $2,500 or his or her address is unknown or such estate's gross 32 assets are less than $25,000, by delivery of a copy of the process to a 33 consular official of the noncitizen's nation. 34 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 308 of the surrogate's 35 court procedure act, as amended by chapter 685 of the laws of 1967, is 36 amended to read as follows: 37 (a) The citation shall be served at least the following number of days 38 before the return day: 39 (i) 10 days if the person is served within the state by personal 40 delivery; 41 (ii) 20 days if the person is served [without the state but] within 42 the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 43 Rico or the possessions or territories of the United States by other 44 than personal delivery; and 45 (iii) 30 days in all other cases and where the office of the attorney 46 general is a party. 47 § 3. Paragraphs (a), (e) and (f) of subdivision 2 of section 309 of 48 the surrogate's court procedure act, as amended by chapter 355 of the 49 laws of 2000, are amended to read as follows: 50 (a) mailing or by registered or certified mail, [with or without51return receipt requested,] upon the mailing thereof; 52 (e) publication, on the 28th day after the first publication; [or] 53 (f) electronic means, upon transmittal of the process to the recipi- 54 ent; or 55 (g) any other means, as the court directs. 56 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
