New Jersey Appellate Division Rules Specific Searches Not Required Before Resorting To Service By Mail

In New Jersey, there are three different means by which service can be effected by mail when the primary method, personal service, is unsuccessful. Each method is unique to the specific situation that gives rise to the resort to service by mail, and is ruled by its own set of conditions. The New Jersey Appellate Division recently rejected an attempt to blur the lines between the rules, and provided clarity as to what constitutes "diligent effort and inquiry," a requirement found in each rule.

In U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n v. Curcio, No. A-2649-13T4, 2016 N.J. Super. LEXIS 22 (App. Div. Feb. 1, 2016), the defendant defaulted on a promissory note, which had been assigned to the plaintiff, U.S. Bank National Association. After exchanging some correspondence with the defendant (which was addressed to the defendant's encumbered residence in New Jersey), the bank initiated a foreclosure action on the mortgaged property. Three attempts at personal service at the