Burberry Limited v. John Does
- Analisa Torres
- 1:23-cv-08963
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Burberry Limited v. Various John Does, Judge Torres barred a preliminary injunction against unserved defendants until personal service occurred.
The plaintiffs must file proof of service for the individuals they said they served, while the unserved Gotham tenant and sidewalk vendors cannot be subject to a preliminary injunction unless and until they are personally served.
What happened
In Burberry Limited v. Various John Does, the plaintiffs said they personally served papers on people at two locations after an earlier seizure and temporary restraining order. They also said they could not identify or serve the tenant at Gotham Mini Storage or sidewalk vendors.
The court explained that it cannot issue an injunction against a person without personal jurisdiction, and that valid service is required to establish jurisdiction over that person. The plaintiffs were ordered to file proof of service for the people they said they served by November 8, 2023.
Judge Analisa Torres ruled that the court could not enter a preliminary injunction against the unserved defendants unless and until the plaintiffs personally served them. She also ordered that the November 9, 2023, hearing would take place by telephone.
The detailed version
- Burberry Limited v. John Does · No. 1:23-cv-08963
- Analisa Torres
- Nov. 7, 2023
Background
On October 25, 2023, the court entered a seizure and temporary restraining order. It directed the plaintiffs to personally serve the summons, complaint, accompanying declaration, and order by hand-delivering copies to individuals at the specified locations during execution of the order.
After the seizure, the plaintiffs represented that they had personally served papers on individuals at 35 West 31st Street and at a white, graffitied truck on Broadway with New York license plate ZWX 1388. The court directed the plaintiffs to file proof of that service on the docket by November 8, 2023.
The plaintiffs also stated that they were unable to personally serve anyone at Gotham Mini Storage or any sidewalk vendors within the area covered by the order. In a later letter, they said they had been unable to identify the Gotham tenant and the sidewalk vendors for purposes of service.
Court's Reasoning
The court stated that it cannot issue an injunction against a person unless it has obtained valid personal jurisdiction over that person. It further stated that personal jurisdiction does not exist over a person who has not been validly served.
Ruling
The court ruled that it could not enter a preliminary injunction against the unserved defendants unless and until the plaintiffs personally served them. The court also ordered that the show-cause hearing scheduled for November 9, 2023, at noon would be held by telephone.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.