TITUS BROTHERS ROOFING COMPANY, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
EARL BLANK, ET AL., APPELLEES
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.
Titus Brothers Roofing Company and Joseph Titus appeal from an order denying their motion to vacate a summary judgment against them, claiming their counsel failed to receive notice of the summary judgment motion. The court held that whether a presumption of service is overcome is a factual question for the trial court, not a legal one, and the trial court did not err in denying the motion where conflicting affidavits existed.
The question of whether a presumption of receipt is overcome is a factual question for the trial court, not one of law. A sworn denial of receipt creates a question of fact, but only if evidence is uncontroverted that the pleading was misdirected and not received must the court grant a motion to vacate. The trial court did not err in denying the motion where conflicting affidavits existed.
[1] A trial court's determination of whether the presumption of receipt of a pleading or notice is overcome is a question of fact.
[2] A sworn denial of receipt of a pleading or notice creates a question of fact for the trial court regarding whether the presumption of receipt is overcome.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“The question of whether the presumption of receipt is overcome is a factual one for the trial court.”
Establishes that service presumption disputes are fact questions, not legal ones
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellants' counsel allegedly did not receive copies of appellees' motion for summary judgment, accompanying affidavit, and notice of hearing by mail.…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Automatic Stay (11 U.S.C. § 362) cases and more on FLexlaw
SHARP, Chief Judge.
Titus Brothers Roofing Company (Titus Brothers) and Joseph Titus appeal from an order denying their motion to vacate a summary judgment in favor of appellees, Earl Blank, et al. The summary final judgment was entered at a hearing which appellants’ counsel did not attend and appellants’ motion was predicated on their counsel’s alleged failure to receive a copy of the motion for summary judgment, accompanying affidavit, and notice of hearing on said motion. Appellants filed an affidavit of their counsel’s secretary to the effect that she never received these documents in the mail. The documents themselves reflect service on appellants’ counsel by mail and appellees countered with an affidavit of their counsel’s secretary who averred that it is usual office practice to mail copies of all pleadings to persons appearing in the certificate of service and that the material mailed to appellants’ counsel at the address provided on the answer he filed was never returned by the postal service. The trial court, following an unreported hearing1 denied the motion and on appeal appellants assert that as a matter of law their affidavit overcame the presumption of service created by the certificate of service. Appellants’ reading of Florida law is incorrect.
The question of whether the presumption of receipt is overcome is a factual one for the trial court. Hammett v. Hammett, 510 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Abrams v. Paul, 453 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). A sworn denial of receipt of a pleading or notice creates a question of fact for the trial court as to whether the presumption of receipt is overcome. Only if the evidence is uncontroverted that the pleading or notice was misdirected and not received must the court grant the motion to vacate. See Falkner v. Amerifirst Federal Savings and Loan Association, 489 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986).
The record here shows the court had before it the sworn affidavit of appellants’ counsel’s secretary that she did not receive a copy of the pleadings in the mail. Counsel signed the unverified motion to vacate and did not himself file an affidavit. Appellees’ countered with the affidavit of their counsel’s secretary as to the regular and usual office practice of mailing pleadings to counsel listed in the certificate of service and that the instant pleadings had not been returned in the mail.
Given this evidence as well as the lack of a transcript of the hearing on the motion,2 we cannot say that the trial court erred in refusing to vacate the order. We do note from the record that Titus Brothers filed a suggestion of bankruptcy below thus triggering the automatic stay provision of 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)(1) as to it. See Ingersoll-Rand Financial Corp. v. Miller Mining Company, Inc., 817 F. 2d 1424 (9th Cir.1987); Cathey v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 711 F. 2d 60 (6th Cir.1983). Accordingly, we affirm the order denying the motion to vacate as to Joseph Titus and stay the appeal as to Titus Brothers. We instruct appellants’ counsel to notify this court immediately once the stay is lifted.
AFFIRMED as to Joseph Titus; STAYED as to Titus Brothers.
DAUKSCH and COWART, JJ., concur. . Appellants do not argue that they were in any way denied the opportunity to present all the evidence they desired.
. See Beasley v. Beasley, 463 So. 2d 1248 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Emmer v. Brucato, 813 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…is presumed valid unless clear and convincing evidence is presented to the contrary. Telf Corp. v. Gomez, 671 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). Whether that presumption is overcome is a factual one for the trial court. Titus Bros. Roofing Co. v. Blank, 542 So. 2d 439 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989). The defaulting party must establish by clear and convincing evidence that service was invalid. Aboudraah v. Tartus Group, Inc., 795 So. 2d 79 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). A defendant cannot impeach a summons by simply denying service, b…
-
Fla. E. Dev. Co. v. Len-Hal Realty, Inc., 636 So. 2d 756 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)…Cir.1983). In In the Matter of the Celotex Corporation, 128 B.R. 478 (M.D.Fla.1991), the bankruptcy court held that there was an automatic stay when a defendant in the trial court appealed, citing Cathey. In Titus Brothers Roofing Company v. Blank, 542 So. 2d 439 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), Titus appealed a summary judgment entered against it, and the court held that when Titus filed a suggestion of bankruptcy there was an automatic stay, citing Cathey. The opinion does not reflect whether Titus was the defendant i…
Authorities Cited
- Falkner v. Amerifirst Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 489 So. 2d 758 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- Abrams v. Paul, 453 So. 2d 826 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Cathey v. Johns-Manville Sales Corp., 711 F.2d 60 (6th Cir. 1983)
- Ingersoll-Rand Fin. Corp. v. Miller Mining Co., Inc., 817 F.2d 1424 (9th Cir. 1987)
- In re the Marriage of Ronald Wayne Beasley v. Corrie Gail Beasley, 463 So. 2d 1248 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- State v. Haynes, 463 So. 2d 1248 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)
- Hammett v. Hammett, 510 So. 2d 632 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)