Cox v. Quigley

Facts

Defendant, Joseph Quigley, was raised in Cayuga Heights Road in Ithaca, New York. Thereafter, Defendant went to college in Maine. Subsequently, Defendant’s parents moved to Iradell Road in Ithaca. The home did not have a room for Defendant. When Defendant would spend the summer there, he would sleep on a cot in the basement. Later, Defendant joined the Military Sealift Command, spending most of his time at sea. Defendant changed his listed address to the address where his grandparents’ lived in Florida. In Florida, Defendant would vote in elections and also file his income tax returns. In June of 1988, Cox, Plaintiff, obtained a lawyer and served process on Defendant at Defendant’s parents house on Iradell Road. Defendant’s father did not accept service and told Plaintiff’s lawyers that Defendant did not live there. Nonetheless, Plaintiff’s lawyer, again, had the sheriff leave process with his force and mailed a copy of the service to the parent’s home. Defendant’s father’s lawyer returned service, stating that Defendant’s father would not accept service for his son. Defendant never appeared at court, and a default judgment was rendered against him. Defendant motioned to vacate the default on the grounds that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over him because he was improperly served. Defendant, himself, was not viewed as credible witness with regard to his residence in June 1988 because there was evidence that Defendant continued to have a New York driver’s license, conducted business with the Iradell Road address, had his mother conduct his business tasks from New York, and when Defendant was not at sea, Defendant would split his time by visiting his parents in New York, grandparents in Florida, sister in Maine, and other individuals.