Sec. 22.2. Service of legal process

(a) The director or officer in charge of a facility shall not permit the service of any legal process upon any patient except upon an order of a New York State court of record or of a Federal court, which order shows that the court had notice of the fact that the person sought to be served was on the date of the order a patient in such facility. The foregoing rule shall not apply to service of the following legal papers, which may be made upon patients without court order:

(1) citations issued by the Surrogate's Court for probate of wills, letters of administration and for final accounting; and for appointment of guardians for mentally-retarded persons;

(2) notice of petition for appointment of a committee or conservator, and notice of final accounting of committee or conservator.

(b) At the time of the service of any process upon a patient, the director or one of his assistants or the officer in charge shall be present and a descriptive note must be entered in the patient's case record. A copy of the process served, together with a copy of the court order, must be filed in the patient's record and an additional copy of such papers must be given to each of the following:

(1) the committee, conservator, or guardian of the patient or, if there be none, to the nearest relative or friend, together with an explanatory letter;

(2) the Mental Health Information Service;

(3) in the case of a State facility, to

(i) the patient resource agent for the facility; and,

(ii) the Department of Law.

The director or officer in charge is responsible for distribution of the legal papers served upon the facility and/or the patient.

(c) In order to comply with the foregoing requirements, the process server shall provide six copies when he makes service on a patient in a State facility and four copies when he makes service on a patient in a private facility.