Opinion
May 1, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Fredman, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court properly dismissed the complaint against the defendant Richard O'Connell, the trustee in bankruptcy, due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The complaint alleged mismanagement in collecting and preserving assets of the debtor's estate. The well-settled general rule is that a trustee in bankruptcy is an officer of the appointing court, and courts other than the appointing court have no jurisdiction to entertain suits against the trustee, without leave of the appointing court (in this case the United States Bankruptcy Court), for acts done by the trustee in his official capacity and within his authority as an officer of the court (see, Barton v Barbour, 104 U.S. 126; In re Baptist Med. Ctr. v Singh, 80 B.R. 637; Matter of Campbell v Fitzgerald, 13 B.R. 974) . The instant case does not fall within the limited exception set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 959 (a), as the conduct complained of does not constitute "carrying on business" within the meaning of that section (see, Matter of Campbell v Fitzgerald, 13 B.R. 974, supra).
The Supreme Court properly dismissed the complaint against the defendants Scott Lord, Jan Stahl, and Jeffrey Barnes due to lack of personal jurisdiction. The plaintiff failed to establish that these defendants were properly served.
The appellant's remaining contentions are without merit. Balletta, J.P., Ritter, Altman and Goldstein, JJ., concur.