WORLD ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS, LLC, APPELLANT,
v.
TREVIA, LLC, APPELLEE
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World Entertainment Partners sued Trevia LLC and obtained a default judgment. Trevia appealed the denial of its motion to set aside the default, arguing improper service of process because its registered agent had resigned. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that an attempted but improper resignation of the registered agent did not terminate the agent's authority to receive service.
Service of process was proper because the registered agent's attempt to resign was insufficient to terminate his position as the corporation's registered agent. An agent must comply with the Division's formal requirements to effectively resign; an unsuccessful resignation attempt does not relieve the corporation of the agent's authority to receive service.
[1] Service of process is proper when made upon a registered agent who has not effectively resigned according to statutory requirements.
[2] A registered agent's attempt to resign is insufficient to terminate their agency status if the resignation does not comply with statutory requirements.
Previewing 2 of 3 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 registered agent 'attempted' to resign, but failed to follow the Division's requirements for resignation as a registered agent”
Establishes that an attempted resignation without proper procedural compliance is insufficient to terminate an agent's authority
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTrevia LLC's registered agent Rose attempted to resign on March 1, 2004, by submitting a resignation notice and payment to the Division of Corporation…
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MAY, J.
The defendant appeals an order denying its motion to set aside a default judgment. It argues the trial court erred when it found service of process to have been proper and that there was no excusable neglect. It further argues the court erred in entering the judgment because the “doc” stamps had not been paid.1 We disagree with the defendant and affirm, but write to address the service of process issue.
The defendant argues service of process was improper because the defendant’s registered agent resigned prior to service of the complaint. As the trial court properly found, the registered agent “attempted” to resign, but failed to follow the Division’s requirements for resignation as a registered agent.
On March 1, 2004, the registered agent Rose sent a notice of resignation along with payment for the filing to the Division of Corporations (Division). The Division deposited the check. On March 15, 2004, the Division returned the form to the defendant, not the registered agent, indicating that Rose had used an improper resignation form and the resignation notice could not be filed. The Division enclosed the proper form. On April 29, 2004, the plaintiff served the complaint on Rose as the registered agent.
As the plaintiff argues, the evidence presented to the trial court at the hearing on the motion to set aside the default established that Rose had not properly resigned as the defendant’s registered agent at the time that service of process was made. The defendant’s annual uniform business report to the Division filed on July 24, 2004, three months after service of process, continued to list Rose as the defendant’s “currently registered agent.” And, the Division’s records continued to show Rose as the registered agent until July 26, 2004.
Here, the registered agent’s attempt to resign was simply insufficient to terminate his position as the corporation’s registered agent. Therefore, the trial court’s finding of proper service is supported by the record. As there is no abuse of discretion, we affirm. Solmo v. Friedman, 909 So. 2d 560, 564 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)
Affirmed.
STONE and GROSS, JJ., concur. . This is a consolidated appeal from a non-final and a final order. For purposes of this opinion, we have consolidated the issues without reference to the separately filed appeals.