CHARLES B. BLAND, D/B/A SOUTHEAST MECHANICAL SERVICES, APPELLANT,
v.
VIKING FIRE PROTECTION, INC. OF THE SOUTHEAST, APPELLEE
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Court reversed the denial of a motion to vacate a default judgment where the defendant's secretary misfiled the summons and complaint, constituting excusable neglect, and the defendant stated a meritorious defense.
A default judgment must be vacated when the defendant demonstrates excusable neglect in failing to respond and presents a meritorious defense.
[1] A secretary's misfiling of a summons and complaint constitutes excusable neglect sufficient to support vacation of a default judgment when the defendant presents a merito…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“courts should liberally set aside defaults so that lawsuits may be determined on their merits”
Establishing the general principle governing default vacation motions
Charles Bland's secretary misfiled the summons and complaint, resulting in a default judgment against him in a dispute with Viking Fire Protection, In…
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PER CURIAM.
Charles Bland appeals the order denying his motion to vacate the final judgment entered upon a default. We reverse.
It is well established that under appropriate circumstances courts should liberally set aside defaults so that lawsuits may be determined on their merits. North Shore Hospital, Inc. v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849 (Fla.1962). A party seeking to vacate a default judgment must first demonstrate that the failure to file a responsive pleading was the result of excusable neglect and that there exists a meritorious defense. Brandt v. Dolman, 421 So. 2d 689 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Lacore v. Giralda Bake Shop, Inc., 407 So. 2d 275 (Fla.3d DCA 1982); Travelers Insurance Co. v. Bryson, 341 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). Here, the secretary’s misfiling of the summons and complaint constituted excusable neglect. See County National Bank of North Miami Beach v. Sheridan, Inc., 403 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Associated Medical Institutions, Inc. v. Imperatori, 338 So. 2d 74 (Fla.3d DCA 1976). See also Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Wright, 342 So. 2d 503 (Fla. 1977); Imperial Industries, Inc. v. Moore Pipe & Sprinkler Co., 261 So. 2d 540 (Fla.3d DCA 1972); Travelers Insurance Co. v. Bryson; North Shore Hospital, Inc. v. Barber. Additionally, appellant states a meritorious defense in his answer and sworn affidavit by claiming that he had no contractual dealing of any kind with appel-lee and that he has never done business as Southeast Mechanical Services.
Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment and the default and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
BOARDMAN, A.C.J., and GRIMES and SCHOONOVER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Marshall Davis, Inc. v. Incapco, Inc., 558 So. 2d 206 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…for lawsuits to be determined on the merits; therefore, courts should liberally set aside defaults under appropriate circumstances. North Shore Hosp., Inc. v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849 (Fla.1962); Bland v. Viking Fire Protection, Inc. of the Southeast, 454 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). Although a party must establish a gross abuse of the trial court’s discretion to justify an appellate court’s reversal of a ruling [*208] on a motion to set aside a default, a lesser showing is required to reverse a denial of a m…
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Allstate Floridian Ins. Co. v. Ronco Inventions, LLC, 890 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)…tion of the “principle of liberality” in setting aside defaults so that lawsuits may be decided on their merits. Lindell Motors, Inc. v. Morgan, 727 So. 2d 1112, 1113 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (citing Bland v. Viking Fire Protection, Inc. of the Southeast, 454 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)). The troublesome nature of our review here is the admittedly high “gross abuse of discretion” standard. The definition of an abuse of discretion has been provided by the Florida Supreme Court in Canakaris v. Canakaris, 382 So. 2d…
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Okeechobee Imports, Inc. v. Am. Sav. & Loan Ass'n OF Fla., 558 So. 2d 506 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…ble neglect. North Shore Hosp., Inc. v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849, 852 (Fla.1962); Credit Gen. Ins. Co. v. Thomas, 515 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Fortune Ins. Co. v. Sanchez, 490 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Bland v. Viking Fire Protection, Inc., 454 So. 2d 763 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); County Nat’l Bank v. Sheridan, Inc., 403 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Associated Medical Inst., Inc. v. Imperatori, 338 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). Where an employee fails to follow established corporate procedures in proces…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- N. Shore Hosp., Inc. v. Barber, 143 So. 2d 849 (Fla. 1962)
- Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Wright, 342 So. 2d 503 (Fla. 1977)
- Cnty. Nat'l Bank OF N. Miami Beach v. Sheridan, Inc., 403 So. 2d 502 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- Associated Med. Insts., Inc. v. Imperatori, 338 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)
- Travelers Ins. Co. v. Daisey Q. Bryson and Salvatore DeLuca, 341 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977)
- Wes Brandt v. Dolman, 421 So. 2d 689 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- Martine Lacore v. Giralda Bake Shop, Inc., 407 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Collie v. State, 261 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Imperial Indus., Inc. v. Moore Pipe & Sprinkler Co., 261 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)