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Ellen DeGeneres says she wasn't properly served with court papers amid a lawsuit over an October 16, 2023 collision in Santa Barbara County, California she was involved in.
Last month, the plaintiff requested a jury trial, claiming DeGeneres' negligence behind the wheel led her to careen into her Tesla, leaving her with 'multiple serious personal injuries and damages.'
The suit was initially filed in September, when DeGeneres (who turned 68 Monday) was on a vacation in Florence, Italy with wife Portia de Rossi, 52; currently, a non-jury trial is slated for November 2026.
Attorneys for DeGeneres described the complications that led to the papers not reaching the talk show host, US Weekly reported Monday, citing January 21 court filings it reviewed.
'On December 23, 2025, certain documents were dropped off at the receptionist desk at [the business management firm] Neuman + Associates,' lawyers for DeGeneres said.
Daily Mail has reached out to reps for DeGeneres for further comment on the story.
Ellen DeGeneres says she wasn't properly served with court papers amid a lawsuit over an October 16, 2023 collision in Santa Barbara County, California she was involved in. DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were pictured in September in Paris, France
Attorneys for DeGeneres continued, 'Neuman + Associates is not Ms. DeGeneres' dwelling house, usual place of abode, or usual place of business.
'Further, Ms. DeGeneres was not at Neuman + Associates at the time of the drop off.'
The plaintiff said that a process server also tried to relay the legal documents at NKSFB, LLC - the parent company of Neuman + Associates - on two occasions, January 6 and January 7.
The plaintiff said the process server gave the documents to an employee/security guard.
Lawyers for the talk show host said in response that 'there was no reason to believe Ms DeGeneres would be there at all, and specially not on those two random days in January.
'It should be reasonably apparent to anyone, especially a process server, that a security guard at a 20-story building is not "in charge" of a business on the fifth floor of that building.'
Lawyers for DeGeneres said that it was 'extremely unlikely' the employee who was presented with the docs would 'have a relationship with Ms. DeGeneres such that the security guard would reliably deliver the Complaint documents' to the star.
The firm's Harley Neuman in the filing detailed the allegedly nondescript exchange between the process server and employee.
Attorneys for DeGeneres described the complications that led to the papers not reaching the talk show host, pictured in 2022 in Washington, DC
'I have a business relationship, through Neuman + and am generally familiar with Ms. DeGeneres' business operations and personal living situation,' Neuman said. 'Ms. DeGeneres was not at Neuman + Associates at the time of the drop.'
'There was no verbal interaction with the process server that I am aware of. The process server did not inform anyone of the contents of the documents that I am aware of.'
Neuman continued, 'Nobody signed any acknowledgement of receipt of the documents that I am aware of. Likewise, I am not aware of a copy of the summons and complaint being mailed to my office.'
DeGeneres has yet to be formally served due to the fact that she 'resides overseas' in the Cotswolds region of England, per court docs filed last month reviewed by Daily Mail.
The plaintiff will use the Hague Convention Service to have the complaint presented to her, according to court docs.
The plaintiff said she suffered 'sustained serious injuries and incurred significant income/business loss' as complications in the aftermath of the collision, according to legal docs.
A complaint filed last September alleged that the plaintiff had 'made sure there were no other vehicles' in the way as she came to a stop at a stop sign.
The complaint continued: 'Ellen DeGeneres entered the intersection without stopping at the stop sign' in a manner described as 'suddenly and without any warning' - resulting in the collision.
DeGeneres did not properly stop at a stop sign ahead of the October 16, 2023 collision in Santa Barbara County, California, the plaintiff said in legal docs
DeGeneres' performance behind the wheel at the time of the collision 'fell below the standard of care of a reasonable person,' the September complaint read.
DeGeneres is accused of causing or contributing 'to causing plaintiff's vehicle to be collided with by the defendants' vehicle.'
The plaintiff said as a result of the crash, they experienced 'loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and anxiety,' the outlet reported, citing legal documents.
DeGeneres and de Rossi have resided in the English countryside in the wake of President Donald Trump's defeat of former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
The couple, who have had a lucrative run in flipping houses, in July sold a farmhouse they purchased for $30 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
They subsequently moved into a bigger home to make room for horses de Rossi owns.
'Portia’s living her dream riding her horse through the English countryside and into the village,' Ellen said on Instagram in August. 'Gosh I hope she comes home soon.'
DeGeneres was one of Tinseltown's most powerful entertainers until a toxic workplace scandal that began amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 escalated, hurting the ratings of the popular show, which wrapped up in May of 2022.
English (US) ·