Mailman v. Belvecchio

In Mailman v. Belvecchio, 195 Misc2d 275 (App Term 2d Dept 2002) the Appellate Term held that "plaintiff's unopposed motion was properly denied inasmuch as plaintiff did not establish that the envelope containing the information subpoena was signed for by defendant or anyone acting on her behalf, or that it was even received ." (Id.) The obligation to answer an information subpoena ripens only upon receipt and the answers must be returned "within seven days of receipt." CPLR 5224(a)(3). Since the plaintiffs in Mailman could not point to any date of receipt, the seven-day period never began to run; consequently, the defendants could not properly be punished for contempt. In Mailman, supra, the Information Subpoena was purportedly served only by certified mail with no evidence of receipt of the document and, given the consequence of civil commitment for failure to provide the information requested, the court found that the plaintiff in that instance must prove receipt.