The death of a party divests the court of jurisdiction and stays the proceedings until a proper substitution has been made, pursuant to CPLR 1015(a). Any determination rendered without a substitution will be deemed a nullity.
The death of a party terminates the party's attorney's authority to act on behalf of the deceased. Here, the decedent's former attorneys moved to dismiss the complaint, purportedly on behalf of the decedent. Since the former attorneys lacked the authority to act, the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to consider the motion. Accordingly, so much of the order as granted the motion purportedly made on behalf of the decedent is a nullity.
Fazilov v. Acosta, NY Slip Op 03470 (2d Dep't June 26, 2024)
