Starostenko v. UBS AG
- Katherine Failla
- 1:19-cv-09993
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Starostenko v. UBS AG BANK, Judge Failla granted more time for pro se plaintiffs to serve UBS AG through the Marshals Service.
The order affects Yuri Starostenko and Irina Tsareva, who were given additional time and Marshals Service assistance to serve UBS AG, and UBS AG, which the court directed the Marshals Service to attempt to serve at two addresses.
What happened
Yuri Starostenko and Irina Tsareva, representing themselves, had been permitted to proceed without paying court fees. They asked for more time to serve UBS AG after service was sent to an address where Cede & Co. said it was not authorized to accept service for UBS AG.
The court granted the extension. It directed the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms for UBS AG using two listed addresses and to provide the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla also instructed the plaintiffs to tell the court in writing whether they knew of another United States address where UBS AG could be served. The order addressed service only and did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Starostenko v. UBS AG · No. 1:19-cv-09993
- Katherine Failla
- Feb. 21, 2020
Background
Yuri Starostenko and Irina Tsareva brought the action under federal-question and diversity jurisdiction and appeared without lawyers. The court had previously allowed them to proceed without prepaying court fees. Because they had that status, they could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out service of the summons and complaint.
The plaintiffs returned a service form identifying Cede & Co. at 55 Water Street in New York as the address for service on UBS AG. The Marshals Service served the papers at that address. Cede & Co. then told the plaintiffs that it had received the papers but was not an agent of UBS AG and was not authorized to accept service on UBS AG's behalf.
Ruling
The plaintiffs asked for an extension of time to complete service. The court granted that request. It directed the Clerk of Court to complete two service forms for UBS AG, one using the address for UBS AG New Branch at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York and another using the address for David Kelly, Managing Director UBS AG, at 600 Washington Boulevard in Stamford, Connecticut. The Clerk was also directed to give the U.S. Marshals Service the paperwork needed to attempt service at those two addresses.
The court further directed the plaintiffs to notify it in writing whether they had another United States address where UBS AG could be served. The order concerned service of process and did not resolve the merits of the plaintiffs' claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.