On August 6, 2025, Justice Jamieson of the Westchester County Commercial Division issued a decision in York Re Capital Partners, LLC v. Benussi, 2025 NY Slip Op. 51282(U), holding that service on a person in a coma was ineffective, explaining:
As for the motion relating to Ciro Desenzani Benussi, plaintiff has stated that he (1) is in a coma; and (2) has been moved to Argentina by his family. Plaintiff has presented the Court with no legal authority that would allow the Court to grant plaintiff the relief it seeks over someone who is not in the jurisdiction. Moreover, according to the affidavits of service and the affirmation of Juana Socas, defendant was in a coma (presumably in Florida) before the first time that plaintiff attempted service on him in New York. When plaintiff served him in his hospital room in Florida, the affidavit of service states that defendant was in a coma. It thus appears that service was never effectuated on him. Accordingly, the Court denies the motion as to defendant Desenzani Benussi in its entirety.
This decision is interesting because I can see both sides of the argument. Of course, service on someone in a coma is ineffective; how could they know they had been served or respond! But from the plaintiff’s point of view, how can they assert their rights? If a guardian had not been appointed, who can the plaintiff serve (part of what the plaintiff had sought was appointment of a guardian ad litem, but one wonders how a Commercial Division Judge could appoint a guardian over someone in a coma in Argentina). I guess the answer is try to sort it out in Argentina.