JAMES SARIDIS AND MARILYN SARIDIS, APPELLANTS,
v.
VISTA ST. LUCIE ASSOCIATION, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, AND CAMCO SERVICES, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, 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.
The court held that the affidavit for service of process was insufficient because it failed to state the necessity for substitute service on a corporate employee.
Appellants attempted service of process on a corporate employee, and the process server's affidavit cited a statute but did not state the necessity fo…
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 Affidavit Of Service cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
We affirm the circuit court’s order quashing service of process on appellee Cameo Services, Inc. and vacating the clerk of court’s default.
The affidavit filed by the process server noted that service was effected on a corporate employee. The affidavit referred to “F.S. 48.081(3)” but said nothing more.
The affidavit contained no “statement supporting the necessity for the substitute service” on the corporate employee. Nationsbanc Mortgage Corp. v. Gardens N. Condo. Ass’n, Inc., 764 So. 2d 883, 885 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). It is well established that for service of process on an agent or employee of a corporation to be effective, the return of service must show the absence of the statutorily prescribed superior classes of persons who may be served. See Milton Land & Inv. Co. v. Our Home Life Ins. Co., 81 Fla. 227, 87 So. 636, 637 (1921) (relying on Section 2600, Revised General Statutes of 1920); York Communications, Inc. v. Furst Group, Inc., 724 So. 2d 678, 679 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).
Appellants rely on Demars v. Village of Sandalwood Lakes Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., 625 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993), but that case is distinguishable, in that it involves the constructive service statute, Chapter 49, Florida Statutes (1991). A “sworn statement in support of constructive service does not require the inclusion of specific facts showing that a diligent search ha[d] been undertaken.” Demars, 625 So. 2d at 1223. This is in contrast to an affidavit of service filed under section 48.081, which must show the necessity for substitute service. See Nationsbanc, 764 So. 2d at 885; Sunrise Assisted Living, Inc. v. Ward, 719 So. 2d 1218, 1220 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998).
AFFIRMED.
POLEN, C.J., FARMER and GROSS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC v. Gibraltar Private Bank & Tr. Co., 162 So. 3d 1058 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)…le); Nat’l Safety Assoc., Inc. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 799 So. 2d [*1061] 316, 817 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (finding service was invalid when the return of service failed to show the absence of all superior officers); Saridis v. Vista St. Lucie Ass’n, Inc., 804 So. 2d 372, 373 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (affirming quashal of service of process on corporation where the affidavit filed by the process server noted that service was effected on a corporate employee, referred to “F.S. 48.081(3)” but said nothing more); Nationsban…
-
Mattress One, Inc. v. Sunshop Props., LLC (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)…64 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (holding service on random employee of corporation was facially void because the affidavit did not contain any statement supporting the necessity for the substitute service); Saridis v. Vista St. Lucie Ass’n, Inc., 804 So. 2d 372, 373 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (affirming quashal of service of process on corporation where the affidavit filed by the process server noted that service was effected on a corporate employee, referred to “F.S. 48.081(3)” but said nothing more). We ther…
-
Smith v. Fla. Agric. & Mech. Univ. Bd. of Trs. (M.D. Fla. 2024)…citation omitted) (emphases added). Accordingly, the court confirmed that the clerk's default that had been entered against the defendant below was void, as the defendant had not been properly served. Id.; see also Sardis v. Vista St. Lucie Ass'n, 804 So. 2d 372, 373 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (applying Milton to find that service was ineffective); York Commc'ns, 7 ---PAGE 8--- Case 6:24-cv-00457-PGB-RMN Document 60 Filed 05/29/24 Page 8 of 12 PageID 1807 Inc. v. Furst Grp, Inc., 724 So. 2d 678, 679 (Fla. 4th D…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Demars v. Vill. OF Sandalwood Lakes Homeowners Ass'n, Inc., 625 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)
- Milton Land & Inv. Co. v. Our Home Life Ins. Co., 81 Fla. 227 (Fla. 1921)
- Saunders v. State, 724 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- York Commc'ns, Inc. v. The Furst Grp., Inc., 724 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Sunrise Assisted Living, Inc. v. Ward, 719 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
- Freeman v. State, 764 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Nationsbanc Mortg. Corp. v. The Gardens N. Condo. Ass'n, Inc., 764 So. 2d 883 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)