Ellen DeGeneres is fighting a 2023 California car crash lawsuit, arguing she never received proper legal documents despite claims from the woman suing her.
The dispute centers on whether DeGeneres legally received notice of the case, which accuses her of causing a traffic accident that left people injured.
According to court documents dated January 21 and obtained by Us every weekDeGeneres’ legal team says the documents were not delivered to her home or personal workplace.
The filing explains that documents were filed on December 23, 2025, at the receiving end of Neuman + Associates, a business management company.
The response clearly states that the location “is not the dwelling house, usual place of residence, or usual place of business of Ms. DeGeneres,” and adds that she was not there at the time.
The woman filing the lawsuit claimed that a processing server also attempted to deliver the documents to NKSFB, LLC on January 6 and 7, leaving them with an “employee/security guard.” Neuman + Associates is a division of NKSFB.
DeGeneres’ response strongly disputes that this counts as proper service, stating: “There was no reason to believe Ms. DeGeneres would be there at all, especially not on those two random days in January.” »
The filing further asserts: “It should be reasonably obvious to anyone, particularly a process server, that a security guard in a 20-story building is not ‘in charge’ of a business located on the fifth floor of that building.”
The documents also note that it would be “extremely unlikely” that the employee involved had a direct relationship with DeGeneres or reliably provided her with sensitive legal documents.
Harley Neuman, who runs Neuman + Associates and serves on the board of directors of the Ellen DeGeneres Wildlife Fund, also submitted a statement supporting DeGeneres’ claim.
In documents dated Jan. 21, he said, “I have a business relationship, through Neuman+, and am generally familiar with Ms. DeGeneres’ business operations and personal life situation.” »
While acknowledging that documents were left at the office, Neuman said DeGeneres was not present at the time.
He added that there was no interaction with the administrator of the process, no explanation of the contents of the documents and no signed acknowledgment of receipt.
He also said that to his knowledge, no copy of the summons and complaint had been sent to the office.
The lawsuit itself was filed in September 2025.
The woman suing DeGeneres alleges that the former talk show host ran a stop sign and hit her Tesla in Santa Barbara County in October 2023.
She accuses DeGeneres of negligence and claims she was injured in the accident. The plaintiff is seeking an unspecified amount in damages.
DeGeneres, who turned 68 on January 26, is currently living in the United Kingdom with her wife, Portia de Rossi, after moving there in 2024. The court date for the case is scheduled for April 30.
