AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE 1.070(J)-TIME LIMIT FOR SERVICE
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The Florida Supreme Court adopted an amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j) establishing a 120-day time limit for service of initial process and pleading on defendants, with provisions for dismissal without prejudice or dropping a defendant if service is not made within that period unless good cause or excusable neglect is shown.
The Court adopted an amended Rule 1.070(j) requiring service within 120 days of filing the initial pleading, authorizing the court to dismiss the action without prejudice or drop a defendant if service is not made and good cause or excusable neglect is not shown, and permitting the court to extend the time for service if the plaintiff demonstrates good cause or excusable neglect.
[1] A court shall dismiss an action without prejudice or drop a defendant as a party if service of process is not made within 120 days of filing the initial pleading and the…
[2] A court shall extend the time for service of process if the plaintiff shows good cause or excusable neglect for the failure to serve within 120 days.
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States the core requirement and consequences of the amended rule regarding the 120-day service deadline.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Court proposed and subsequently adopted a modification to Rule 1.070(j) after publishing a proposed amendment in The Florida Bar News and consider…
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PER CURIAM.
In Amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j)—Time Limit for Service, 720 So. 2d 505 (Fla.1998), we proposed on our own motion to amend Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j), as follows:
(j) Summons; Time Limit. If service of the initial process and initial pleading is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after filing of the initial pleading and the party on-whose-behalf service is required-does not Ahow-good cause why servlee-was-nof-made within that timey the court, on its own initiative after notice or on motion, shall direct that service be effected within a specified time or shall dismiss the action-shall-be-dismissed without prejudice or drop that defendant dropped as a party — on—the court’s-own initiative-after notice or on motion-; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. A dismissal under this subdivision shall not be considered a voluntary dismissal or operate as an adjudication on the merits under rule 1.420(a)(1).
We directed that the proposed amendment be published in The Florida Bar News, and we invited interested persons to file comments. Based on the comments received, we conclude that we should slightly modify our proposal. Accordingly, we adopt the following modified amendment to rule 1.070:
(j) Summons; Time Limit. If service of the initial process and initial pleading is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after filing of the initial pleading and the-par-ty-on-whose-heha]£-s6Pvice4s required does not-show-good cause why sendee was not made within -that-time, the court, on its own initiative after notice or on motion, shall direct that service be effected within a specified time or shall dismiss the action shall be-dismissed without prejudice or drop that defendant dropped as a party on-the court’s own-initiative-after notice or on motiom; provided that if the plaintiff shows good cause or excusable neglect for the failure, the court shall extend the time for service for an appropriate period. A dismissal under this subdivision shall not be considered a voluntary dismissal or operate as an adjudication on the merits under rule 1.420(a)(1).
This amendment shall become effective immediately. Consistent with the United States Supreme Court’s recent modification to the federal counterpart to this rule, we conclude that the amendment shall apply to all civil cases commenced after the date of this opinion and, insofar as just and practicable, to all civil cases pending as of the date of this opinion. See Petrucelli v. Bohringer & Ratzinger, 46 F. 3d 1298 (3d Cir.1995).
It is so ordered.
HARDING, C.J., SHAW, WELLS, ANSTEAD, and PARIENTE, JJ., and OVERTON and KOGAN, Senior Justices, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Totura & Co., Inc. v. Williams, 754 So. 2d 671 (Fla. 2000)…n appropriate period. A dismissal under this subdivision shall not be considered a voluntary dismissal or operate as an adjudication on the merits under rule 1.420(a)(1). Amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(j)-Time Limit for Service, 746 So. 2d 1084, 1084 (Fla.1999), reh’g denied, No. 93,367 (Fla. Oct. 29, 1999) (unpublished order). It is obvious that rule 1.070(j) must be read in conjunction with rule 1.190(a), which provides: A party may amend a pleading once as a matter of course at any ti…
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Chaffin v. Jacobson, 793 So. 2d 102 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)…1999 amendment to rule 1.070(j),2 which broadened the trial court’s discretion to extend the period for service without a showing of good cause or excusable neglect. See Amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.070(f) — Time Limit for Service, 746 So. 2d 1084 (Fla.1999); Thomas v. Silvers, 748 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 1999). On appeal, Chaffin does not assert, as he did below, that he showed good cause for the delay in service; rather, he argues that the trial court abused its discretion in not applying the new…
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Thomas v. Silvers, 748 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 1999)…aintiff fails to establish good cause for the delay. Our decision in Morales, however, is no longer viable and, therefore, neither is Comisky, in light of a recent amendment to rule 1.070(j). In Amendment to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.0700), 746 So. 2d 1084 (Fla.1999), we amended rule 1.070© to read as follows: © Summons; Time Limit. If service of the initial process and initial pleading is not made upon a defendant within 120 days after filing of the initial pleading and the party on whose behalf-ser…
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- Amendment TO Fla. Rule OF Civil Procedure 1.070(j)-Time Limit FOR Serv., 720 So. 2d 505 (Fla. 1998)