Pligavko v Chimples

Holding The defendants waived the affirmative defense of lack of personal jurisdiction by stipulating to it and answering the original complaint without raising the defense. The Supreme Court erred in sua sponte denying the summary judgment motion based on jurisdiction and should have dispensed with the requirement to answer the amended complaint, which only corrected paragraph numbering.

The court’s words

Lack of personal jurisdiction is an affirmative defense that can be waived by, among other things, appearing in an action

2026 NY Slip Op 05561, at the official text

When a defendant participates in a lawsuit on the merits, he or she indicates an intention to submit to the court's jurisdiction

2026 NY Slip Op 05561, at the official text

The Supreme Court has the discretion to dispense with the requirement that the defendants answer [an] amended complaint

2026 NY Slip Op 05561, at the official text

the amended complaint merely corrected an error to the paragraph numbering in the original complaint and did not make any substantive or other changes

2026 NY Slip Op 05561, at the official text