ARONIA W. MCINTYRE, APPELLANT,
v.
DILMUS LEE LAMB AND EXCALIBUR INSURANCE CO., APPELLEES
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In this appeal, the Florida First District Court of Appeal addresses whether service of process on a Georgia resident defendant was valid when the appellant failed to comply with statutory substituted service requirements but inadvertently satisfied alternative service provisions. The court holds that valid service was accomplished despite procedural irregularities.
The court held that valid service was accomplished under sections 48.193 and 48.194, which permit direct personal service of process outside the state for torts committed within Florida. The prior file-stamping by the Secretary of State did not invalidate the summons, and personal service by a Georgia sheriff satisfied the statutory requirements despite timing problems with the substituted service method.
[1] A plaintiff may satisfy Florida's substituted service statutes by leaving a copy of process with the Secretary of State, serving the defendant through a statutory method,…
[2] Service of process is valid under Florida Statutes sections 48.193 and 48.194 when a Georgia sheriff personally serves a Georgia resident with an alias summons issued by…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“we know of no reason why that summons must be considered as having lost some necessary virginal quality by being first stamped by the Secretary of State, nor why that process could not then be served in a manner satisfactory to section 48.194”
Establishes that prior file-stamping by the Secretary of State does not invalidate the summons or prevent its use under alternative service provisions.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant McIntyre sought to sue Dilmus Lee Lamb, a Georgia resident, for injuries sustained in a Florida traffic accident. McIntyre attempted service…
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ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., Chief Judge.
Attempting to sue and serve Lamb, a Georgia resident, for injuries received in a Florida traffic accident, appellant was repeatedly ineffectual in satisfying sections 48.161 and .171, Florida Statutes (1979). Those statutes provide for “substituted service” of process by leaving a copy with the Secretary of State, serving a copy on the nonresident defendant through one of the methods specified in the statute, and filing appropriate evidence of having done so “before the return day of the process or within such time as the court allows.” Section 48.161(1).
Though appellant did not satisfy the close timing requirements of the substituted service statutes, it appears that appellant accidentally complied with sections 48.193 and 48.194, providing for direct personal service outside the state of process issued upon complaint of a tort within the state. Appellant caused a Georgia sheriff to serve upon the Georgia defendant, on January 23, 1981, a copy of the alias summons issued in regular form by the clerk of the circuit court on October 17, 1980. Appellant had first sent the summons to the Secretary of State, who file-stamped a copy in October and apparently returned it to appellant’s counsel; but we know of no reason why that summons must be considered as having lost some necessary virginal quality by being first stamped by the Secretary of State, nor why that process could not then be served in a manner satisfactory to section 48.194, even if timing problems prevented compliance with section 48.161(1). The service was good, and appellant’s suit against Lamb must be reinstated.
REVERSED.
McCORD and MILLS, JJ., concur.