Under CPLR 602, if a notice of petition is served at least 12 days before hearing, answer must be served _____ days before hearing (if demanded). Any reply must be served at least 1 day before hearing time.

• A. 5 days
• B. 7 days
• C. 10 days
• D. 12 days

Answer: (B)

In this area, deadlines for responding to a notice of petition in a New York special proceeding are tied to how far in advance the notice is served. When the notice is served at least 12 days before the hearing (and an answer is demanded), the respondent must serve the answer seven days before the hearing, and any reply to that answer must be served at least one day before the hearing. This seven-day window gives both sides enough time to review and prepare before the hearing. If the notice were served with less than 12 days' lead time, the answer would be due five days before the hearing, but the question specifies the at-least-12-days scenario. So the fill-in is seven days.