Howard Converters, Inc. v. French Art Mills, Inc.

7 N.E.2d 115, 273 N.Y. 238, 1937 N.Y. LEXIS 1199
CourtNew York Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 9, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 7 N.E.2d 115 (Howard Converters, Inc. v. French Art Mills, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard Converters, Inc. v. French Art Mills, Inc., 7 N.E.2d 115, 273 N.Y. 238, 1937 N.Y. LEXIS 1199 (N.Y. 1937).

Opinions

Crane, Ch. J.

The plaintiff is a New York corporation. The defendant is a foreign corporation, a New Jersey corporation. The defendant is not licensed by New York to do business here.

On February 26, 1936, the plaintiff, claiming that the defendant had breached its contract theretofore made, obtained a warrant of attachment and levied on the defendant's property here. On March 18, 1936, twenty-one days after warrant of attachment was granted, one Filbert L. Rosenstein, the designated agent of the defendant, was personally served without the State with the summons and complaint, without an order, pursuant to section 235 of the Civil Practice Act. Rosen *240 stein was served at the registered principal office of the defendant at its domicile, Paterson, New Jersey. He was and is the duly appointed, selected and registered agent of the defendant, authorized by the defendant in its charter (certificate of incorporation) and by the laws of the State of New Jersey to receive service of all process. The Corporations Act of the State of New Jersey, Compiled Statutes (47), section 28d (1) provides:

Every corporation heretofore or hereafter organized under the laws of this State, and every foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this State, shall maintain a principal office within the State of New Jersey, and an agent in charge of said principal office upon whom process against the corporation may be served.” (L. 1916, ch. 243, p. 507.)

Pursuant, therefore, to this act of New Jersey, the French Art Mills, Inc., had designated Filbert L. Rosenstein as the person to be served with a process in litigation against it. Service, therefore, of process, at least within New Jersey, was as good when made personally upon Rosenstein as upon any officer of the company.

The question before us is: “ Was it good service, in order to preserve a warrant of attachment in this State, to serve Rosenstein personally without the State, pursuant to section 235 of the Civil Practice Act?” We must of course distinguish between the cases, where jurisdiction is sought to be obtained over a foreign corporation, and where jurisdiction is sought to be obtained over property attached and being within the State of New York. No jurisdiction over the person of the corporation can be obtained by serving an officer of a foreign corporation without the State. Jurisdiction, however, may be obtained over the res within the State, attached or sequestered, provided our practice gives the foreign corporation sufficient notice by service out of the State or other process so that it may defend its title to that property. (Matthews v. Matthews, 240 N. Y. 28, and Geary v. Geary, 272 N. Y. 390.)

*241 We, therefore, turn to our statutes. Section 235 provides: “ Where the complaint demands judgment that the defendant be excluded from a vested or contingent interest in or lien upon a specific real or personal property within the state or that such an interest or Hen in favor of either party be enforced, regulated, defined or limited, or otherwise affecting the title to such property * * * or where it appears by affidavit filed in the action or as part of the judgment roH in such action that a warrant of attachment, granted in the action, has been levied upon property of the defendant within the state, the summons may be served without an order, upon a defendant without the state in the same manner as if such service were made within the state, * * The language of this section is the same, with additions, as contained in section 443, subdivision 3, of the Code of Civil Procedure.

The decision of this case turns upon the words “ as if such service were made within the state.” Does this mean service upon a domestic corporation within the State, or a foreign corporation within the State? The defendant to be served is a foreign corporation. It is a person without the State who is to be served. The section is not dealing with persons within the State or with domestic corporations. The proper and full reading of the section would be: “ The summons may be served without an order upon the defendant (foreign corporation) without the State in the same manner as if such service were made upon the defendant (foreign corporation) within the state.” In fact I do not see how it could refer to anything else, nor do I see any reason for restricting it to domestic corporations within the State. Such interpretation is contrary to the very intention as weff as language of the statute.

How, then, is a foreign corporation served within the ' State? Section 229 teUs us how:

“ § 229. Personal service of summons upon foreign corporation. Personal service of summons upon a *242 foreign corporation must be made by delivering a copy thereof, within the state, as follows:

“1. To the president, vice-president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, secretary or assistant secretary; or, if the corporation lack either of those officers, to the officer performing corresponding functions under another name.

“ 2. To a person or public officer designated for the purpose pursuant to law by certificate filed in the department of state, the department of banks or department of insurance, whose designation is in force, or if a designee, other than a public officer, has died, resigned or removed from the state, to the secretary of state as provided by the general corporation law.

“ 3. To the cashier, a director or a managing agent of the corporation, within the state, if service cannot be effected under subdivision two of this section, or an officer of the corporation specified in subdivision one of this section, with due diligence, cannot be found within the state.”

Service made upon a person designated for the purpose, pursuant to law, by certificate filed in the Department of State, would be good service of a foreign corporation within this State. Such a person occupying such a position without the State may be thus served to accomplish the purposes of section 235 of the Civil Practice Act. Rosenstein was the person designated by the foreign corporation to receive service of papers, and the certificate stating that he was so selected as such agent was filed with the secretary of state in New Jersey, pursuant to the laws of that State. Neither the officers nor this agent were in the State of New York nor were they expected to be. Section 235 refers to officers and agents without the State, persons and corporations over whom the State of New York can obtain no jurisdiction. Outlaw says that in attachment cases where we have seized the property, the summons and complaint may be served upon the officers of foreign corporations or their agents *243 without the State, that is, served in the State of New Jersey upon such an officer or agent who would correspond to the officer or agent to be served within New York State. A president in New Jersey could be served there because a president (not the president) could be served here.

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Bluebook (online)
7 N.E.2d 115, 273 N.Y. 238, 1937 N.Y. LEXIS 1199, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-converters-inc-v-french-art-mills-inc-ny-1937.