Opinion
March 5, 1991
Appeal from the Supreme Court, New York County (Beatrice Shainswit, J.).
Personal service was properly effectuated upon the individual defendants in accordance with CPLR 308 (2). The affidavits of service in support of plaintiffs' motion to strike defendants' third affirmative defense of lack of jurisdiction established personal service upon individual defendant John Dorrian at his residence, and service upon individual defendant Carol Dorrian by delivery of process to co-defendant John Dorrian and by mail to her last known residence. (Bartomeo v Brookdale Hosp. Med. Center, 121 A.D.2d 670; Bidetti v Salter, 108 A.D.2d 890.) Defendants' assertion that Carol Dorrian was not properly served by mail at her last known residence was concededly not raised before the nisi prius court, and has therefore not been preserved for appellate review. (Slater v Gallman, 38 N.Y.2d 1, 4; Block v Magee, 146 A.D.2d 730, 732.) In any event, defendants' bare assertion that service was not properly made is insufficient to defeat plaintiffs' motion to dismiss. (Stevens v Feitknecht, 93 A.D.2d 998.)
Equally devoid of merit is defendants' contention that the inclusion of the initials, "d/b/a" in the caption establishes that the individual defendants were sued only in their representative capacity as officers of the corporate defendant. Here, a reading of the complaint clearly establishes that the individual defendants were fairly apprised of the fact that the plaintiffs intended to seek a judgment against them in their individual capacities. (Albilia v Hillcrest Gen. Hosp., 124 A.D.2d 499; Connell v Hayden, 83 A.D.2d 30, 37.)
Finally, we find that the IAS court properly denied plaintiffs' motion to dismiss the third affirmative defense as to the corporate defendant, where the affidavit of service did not recite that individual defendant John Dorrian was authorized to receive service on behalf of the corporate defendant. (McDonald v Ames Supply Co., 22 N.Y.2d 111.)
Concur — Sullivan, J.P., Rosenberger, Ross, Asch and Smith, JJ.