The insurance mogul and yacht owner accused of causing the death of NYC fashion entrepreneur Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra was shocked when he was served legal papers after dodging lawyers for two months.
Christopher Durnan allegedly sent attorneys on a wild goose chase up and down the East Coast before they finally caught up to him in October — one year after Nolan-O’Slatarra was found dead aboard the financier’s boat at a swanky Montauk boat club.
“Was surprised it took you so long,” Durnan said after he was served papers on Oct. 1, according to court documents filed on Oct. 15 and viewed by The Post.
Durnan was caught leaving a residence in Lantana, Florida and was tailed to a house in Jupiter, Florida, where he was served outside the residence at 12:07 p.m., attorneys said.
Durnan, who is believed to be the last person to see Nolan-O’Slatarra alive, is facing a $50 million civil lawsuit brought by her estate for damages over her mysterious death.
The 33-year-old NYC-based fashion designer was found unresponsive, cold and bloodied by EMTs aboard Durnan’s vessel docked at the Montauk Yacht Club on Aug. 5, 2025.
Her death was initially believed to be an accidental drug overdose but an independent autopsy only found trace amounts of cocaine in her system.
Durnan is accused of assault, negligence and gross negligence that led to Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death, according to a lawsuit first reported by The Postand filed in New York County Court on Aug. 4, on the anniversary of her death.
Attorneys for Nolan-O’Slatarra’s estate tried multiple times to contact Durnan and serve him with a Summons of Notice — beginning on Aug. 5 — before they finally caught up to him in South Florida three months later.
Officials tried to contact Durnan at the three addresses associated with the investor — two on Long Island and a third in the Catskills.
During each attempt, which began on Aug. 26, the attorneys and their hired process servers came up empty-handed locating and serving Durnan
A process server at a Garden City, Long Island address, which Durnan has held the deed to since 2023, was met by a star Ivy League lacrosse player who refused to accept the summons and said it would only be lost if left on the stoop.
Durnan was eventually tracked down to the Lantana address, where two cars registered to him were located outside.
Two different process servers and a hired investigator attempted to make contact with Durnan at the Florida address at least 10 times between Sept. 2 and Sept. 30, failing to serve the mogul each time.
As he was served the summons, Durnan made the brash statement to the server, mocking how long it took for him to be served, according to the affidavit, first reported by the Irish Independent.
Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family has launched a tip line to help in the private investigation into her death as the case remains open.
“The family of Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra and their legal team are seeking information that may help their investigation into her death in Montauk,” says the tip site, MarthaTipline.com, which is set up by attorney Michael Bowe of Brithem LLP.
“Brithem’s legal team continues to investigate and is asking anyone with information to come forward,” the site says.
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