MARK TETLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
RICHARD A. LETT, ET UX., ARMOUR INDUSTRIAL SECURITY, INC., ET AL., APPELLEES

Fla. 4th DCA | 1984-06-13
No. 83-2613
ANSTEAD, C.J., and LETTS, J., concur.
462 So. 2d 1126 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1984) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

In this appeal, the court reversed the trial court's denial of a motion to set aside a default judgment, holding that the clerk was without authority to enter the default because the affidavit of service failed to comply with Florida statutory requirements for service of process outside the state.


Holding

The court held that the clerk lacked authority to enter the default because the affidavit of service did not comply with statutory requirements. Although personal service was effected, the failure to comply with statutory requirements regarding the form and contents of the return placed jurisdiction in a state of dormancy, during which the trial court was without authority to enter a default.


Headnotes

[1] A failure to comply with statutory requirements for the return of service of process invalidates the service.

[2] A clerk of court should not enter a default when the filed affidavit of service does not meet statutory requirements.

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Key Quotes

“while jurisdiction over appellant's person was effected by the personal service, the failure to comply with the remaining statutory requirements placed the jurisdiction, like Rip Van Winkle, into a state of dormancy during which period the trial court was without authority to enter a default”

Establishes the core holding that non-compliance with service of process statutory requirements invalidates a default judgment even where personal service was accomplished

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Facts & Procedural History

Appellees sued appellant, a security guard, alleging he beat up the husband and caused loss of consortium to the wife. A summons and subpoena were ser…

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Opinion of the Court
GLICKSTEIN, Judge.

GLICKSTEIN, Judge.

This is an appeal from two orders of the trial court, denying a defendant’s motion to set aside a default entered by the'clerk and his subsequent motion for rehearing. We reverse and remand.

Appellees are husband and wife. They alleged in their amended complaint that appellant, while employed as a security guard at the entry gate of a residential development in Broward County, beat up the husband and did him in verbally as well. The wife’s claim was for loss of consortium.

Appellees sent a summons to the sheriff of Forsythe County, Georgia, for service upon appellant along with a subpoena for his deposition. There seems to be no question that appellant was served with both on January 13, 1983. Five weeks later, appel-lees filed with the clerk a motion for default which had attached thereto an “Affidavit of Services.” Appellees’ appendix reflects a document, signed by a deputy sheriff. The name of a notary public appears without other identity of jurisdiction or seal. The document recites that appellant was served on January 13, 1983, at Route # 1, Box 158 in Gainesville, Georgia. It does not recite the time of service. The summons was apparently lost.

Section 48.21, Florida Statutes (1981), provides:

48.21 Return of execution of process. —All officers to whom process is directed shall note on it the time when it comes to hand, the time when it is executed, the manner of execution, the name of the person on whom it was executed and if such person is serviced in a representative capacity, the position occupied by him. A failure to state the foregoing facts invalidates the service, but the return is amendable to state the truth at any time on application to the court from which the process issued. On amendment, service is as effective as if the return had originally stated the omitted facts. A failure to state all the facts in the return shall subject the officer so failing to a fine not exceeding $10, in the court’s discretion.

Section 48.194, Florida Statutes (1981), provides:

48.194 Personal service outside state. —Service of process on persons outside of this state shall be made in the same manner as service within this state by any officer authorized to serve process in the state where the person is served. No order of court is required. An affidavit of the officer shall be filed, stating the time, manner, and place of service. The court may consider the affidavit, or any other competent evidence, in determining whether service has been properly made.

It can be seen that appellees did not comply with the foregoing statutes; therefore the clerk should not have entered the default, it being incumbent upon that court officer and his deputies to examine what is filed with them as a predicate for default in light of statutory requirements. Of course, appellees’ counsel should not have requested the default any more than the clerk should have entered it in light of those requirements.

The effect of non-compliance with the statutes has been spelled out in Klosenski v. Flaherty, 116 So. 2d 767 (Fla.1959). While we shall not quote lengthily from it, attorneys in the district would perhaps gain from reading it. It is sufficient here to restate the holding therein; namely, that while jurisdiction over appellant’s person was effected by the personal service, the failure to comply with the remaining statutory requirements placed the jurisdiction, like Rip Van Winkle, into a state of dormancy during which period the trial court was without authority to enter a default. It follows that the clerk’s hands were similarly tied in this case. Accordingly, the trial court should have granted appellant’s motion to set aside the clerk-originated default and to allow the filing of the tendered answer, affirmative defenses and counterclaim.

We note, in closing, that appellant’s deposition and brief suggest on one occasion the 210 pound plaintiff/appellee husband, a former Marine, was drunk and beat up the 140 pound defendant/appellant security guard. The contradictory allegations of the parties of course had no bearing on our disposition of this appeal, but should make for an interesting trial — certainly if any ex-Marines serve on the jury!

ANSTEAD, C.J., and LETTS, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Re-Employment Servs., Ltd. v. Nat'l Loan Acquisitions Co., 969 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007)
    …or omission in the return of service, personal jurisdiction is suspended and it “lies dormant” until proper proof of valid service is submitted. Klosenski, 116 So. 2d at 769; Schneiderman v. Cantor, 546 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Tetley v. Lett, 462 So. 2d 1126, 1127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). The statutory provisions that govern return of service are found in section 48.21, which specifically provides: [*472] Each person who effects service of process shall note on a return-of-service form attached thereto, th…
  • Schneiderman v. Cantor, 546 So. 2d 51 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
    …and final default judgment. The trial court denied the motion finding lack of due diligence on appellant’s part. Appellant appeals. Defective service suspends personal jurisdiction. Klosenski v. Flaherty, 116 So. 2d 767 (Fla.1959); Tetley v. Lett, 462 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). However, where a defendant unduly delays in objecting to defective service, permitting a default and final default judgment to be entered, a court may deny defendant’s motion to vacate for failure to timely object. Accord Ranger…
  • …proof of valid service is submitted.” Re-Emp’t Servs., Ltd. v. Natl Loan Acquisitions Co., 969 So. 2d 467, 471 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007). During the period of dormancy, the trial court and the clerk are without authority to enter default. Tetley v. Lett, 462 So. 2d 1126, 1127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). Accordingly, the clerk did not have the authority to enter default against Appellants when it did. Therefore, while it was proper for the court to deny Appellants’ motion to quash service because Progressive eventually est…

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