Nelson v. Vaughan

The plaintiff’s motion for judgment was filed in the clerk’s office on November 9, 1965, but process (notice of motion for judgment) was not served on the defendant until September 15, 1966. After hearing evidence, the court dismissed the action on the ground that “the long delay (from November 9, 1965, until September 15, 1966) in service of process on the said defendant was caused by deliberate action and lack of due diligence on the part of the plaintiff”.

Rule 3:3 gives a court authority to dismiss an action because of delay in the service of process only if process is served more than one…