Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure
What does it mean when someone says they have been served in a Florida family law case? This means papers related to a lawsuit filed against a defendant have been delivered to the defendant. Service of process in Florida has certain requirements. If delivery of the lawsuit papers is not performed according to the Florida Statutes, the person who is alleged to have been served may have a reason to challenge the validity of the service of process. This was an issue in the case Capasso v. Buchanan, 4D2023-1397 (Fla. 4th DCA January 17, 2024).
The defendant in this case challenged alleged service of process upon her on the basis that the process server "failed to place on the summons served the date and time of service, the server’s initials or signature, and the server’s identification number as required by section 48.031(5), Florida Statutes (2023), and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070.” After a second attempt was made to serve her, the defendant filed another motion alleging again that the process server did not comply with the Florida Statutes or the Rules of Procedure. Her motion was denied at a non-evidentiary hearing and she appealed.
The appellate court reversed, holding “Appellant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing because her motion adequately raised the process server’s failure to strictly comply with section 48.031(5) and rule 1.070. See id.; see also Brown v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass'n, 117 So. 3d 823, 824 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013) (‘When a process server fails to strictly comply with [the service of process] rules, service must be quashed.’). Further, Appellant did not waive her objection to personal jurisdiction by filing discovery requests and motions relating to discovery or by otherwise defending the action.”
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