SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF KINGS ------------------------------------------------------------x Index No.: 509222/2017 COBBLE HILL HEALTH CENTER, -against- RONALD ROOKWOOD, CAMILLE ROOKWOOD, Plaintiff, AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE TO VACATE DEFAULT JUDGMENT AND GRANT OTHER RELIEF JR. and Defendant. ------------------------------------------------------------x STATE OF NEW YORK ) ) ss: COUNTY OF QUEENS ) CAMILLE ROOKWOOD, being duly sworn, deposes and says as follows: 1. I am a defendant in this action. I reside at 989 East 108 1h Street, Apartment 3B, Brooklyn, NY, 11236. 2. I am the daughter of Ronald Rookwood, Jr., my co-defendant in this action. 3. My father died on December 10, 2016. A copy of his death certificate is attached as Exhibit F. 4. I submit this affidavit in support of my application to vacate the default judgment entered against me and to either dismiss the action for lack of proper service or to grant leave to serve and file a demand for complaint and subsequent pleadings. 5. I make this application by Order to Show Cause with Stay of Enforcement of Judgment because Plaintiff has frozen my bank account and segregated $7557.15 in funds. A true and correct copy of the restraint letter is attached as Exhibit G. I cannot use my debit 1 of 6
card and I cannot write checks to pay my bills. I am currently under a doctor's care for a medical condition and I need access to my account to cover my medical costs. 6. The Court should vacate the judgment and dismiss the action because I was not served in the manner claimed in Plaintiff s affidavit of service, and Plaintiff could not have served my father as alleged in Plaintiffs affidavit of service; in the alternative, this court should vacate the default judgment because I have both a reasonable excuse for not appearing in this action, and meritorious defenses to assert upon service of the Complaint. 7. This action arises from my father's stay in Plaintiffs nursing home. 8. Plaintiff commenced this action by filing a summons with notice on or around May 9, 2017. I Was Not Properly Served With Process. 9. Plaintiffs process server allegedly served my by delivering the summons to a suitable age person at my apartment on May 12, 2017 and by mailing a copy to me on the same day. 10. Plaintiff'sprocess server alleges to have served me by delivering the summons to a "Damien Doe" who is described in the Affidavit of Service as my "co-occupant." 11. I live alone. 12. I do not know anyone by the first name ofdamien. l3. I do not know anyone matching the description of the person allegedly served by Plaintiff s process server. 14. I did receive the summons in the mail, but I did not know how to respond. 15. I have been under extreme stress because of my father's death and my medical problems. 2 2 of 6
16. It was not clear to me what the summons was about or why the Plaintiff was suing my father and me months after my father had died. 17. I never received a complaint and I did not understand how to respond to the summons, which did 'not indicate what the lawsuit was about. 18. I am not an attorney. By the time I found an attorney to assist me, my bank account had been frozen. 19. Now that I have retained an attorney, I understand my rights and options. 20. Plaintiff'sattorney alleges to have mailed the summons and complaint (emphasis added) to me on May 13,2017. (Exhibit E.) 2l. I never received a second copy of the summons and I never received a complaint. 22. Plaintiffs attorney alleges to have mailed a copy of "the Judgment" to me at my home and to my father at Plaintiffs facility on July 6, 2017. 23. I received a copy of the Notice of Entry of Judgment, dated July 10,2017, by mail, but I did not receive a copy of the Judgment before receiving the notice of its entry. My Late Father Could Not Have Been Served As Alleged. 24. Plaintiffs process server allegedly served my father by delivering a copy of the summons to someone allegedly authorized to accept service for my father at Plaintiffs facility on May 12,2017 and by mailing the summons to my father on the same day. 25. My father was discharged from Plaintiffs nursing home sometime in November 2016. 26. My father died in Menorah Home and Hospital, a different nursing home, on December 10,2016. 27. Plaintiffs process server allegedly served someone named "Cheryl Brown" who was allegedly authorized to accept service on behalf of my father. 3 3 of 6
28. I do not know anyone by the name of Cheryl Brown. 29. I do not understand how someone I do not know could have been authorized to accept service on behalf of my deceased father at Plaintiffs facility. 30. Plaintiff should have known at the time of service that my father had been discharged from Plaintiffs facility months earlier. 31. I do not understand how Plaintiff s process server could have served my father at Plaintiffs facility months after he had been discharged from Plaintiffs facility. 32. Furthermore, I do not understand how Plaintiffs process server could have served my father months after he died. I Have Meritorious Defenses to This Action. 33. In support of its application for a default judgment, Plaintiff submitted an Affidavit of Facts dated May 18, 2017 in which Plaintiff s affiant states that the sum certain is due for services rendered to my father by Plaintiff "from December 24, 2015 to the present." (Exhibit D.) 34. My father was no longer living, nor was he a resident of Plaintiffs facility, on May 18, 2017, a fact that Plaintiffs affiant should have been aware of. 35. I dispute the sum demanded by Plaintiff and I dispute that I owe the alleged debt. 36. My father could not afford an elder law attorney or other professional to navigate the complex process of arranging for long term care. 37. I assisted my father with arranging for his care when he became too ill to care for himself. His illness and demise was a period of high stress for me and I am still grieving the loss of my father. 38. I do not recall signing anything that made me personally liable for his alleged debts. 4 4 of 6
39. I work as a flight attendant and am often out of New York for extended periods of time. 40. After my bank account was frozen, I contacted the attorney for the Plaintiff by phone and advised him that my father had died. 41. Apparently, the Plaintiff was not aware that my father had been discharged from Plaintiff'sfacility because Plaintiffs attorney told me that he was served at his last known address, 380 Henry Street, Brooklyn, NY, which is Plaintiffs facility. 42. I ask that this COUlivacate my default and dismiss the complaint for improper service. 43. In the alternative, I ask that this Court vacate my default and permit me to demand the complaint so that I may defend myself on the merits. 44. On or around July 12,2017 date, my bank account was restrained. 45. I did not appreciate the importance of responding to the summons with notice at the time I received it by mail. I have never been involved with a lawsuit before. 46. When viewed as a whole, I have a reasonable excuse in not appearing in this action: I only received one summons with notice by mail, I was working outside of New York State for extended periods of time, I did not appreciate the steps I needed to take to avoid the default, and I was under extreme stress. 47. Although Plaintiff has not yet served the complaint, upon information and belief, I have meritorious defenses to this action. 5 5 of 6
WHEREFORE, I respectfully request that the Court issue a stay of enforcement of the judgment pending the hearing and determination ofthis application, vacate the default judgment entered against me on July 10, 2017 and dismiss the complaint, or alternatively grant leave to serve a demand for complaint and subsequent answer with counterclaims, order that the Plaintiff return the seized funds to me, and grant such other and further relief as the Court deem just and proper. d~7~~v4~ CAMILLE ROOKWOOD Sworn to before me this 25 th day of July, 2017. STACEY WOODS NOTARY PUBLIC-STATE OF NEW VORK No. 02W061 12716 Qualified In Queens County 0 My Commission E xplf. es07-12-202 6 6 of 6