LUIS AVILA AND CRISTINE ROSENHAIM
v.
HMC ASSETS, LLC SOLEY IN ITS CAPACITY AS SEPARATE TRUSTEE FOR CAM XVIII TRUST AND RIVIERA BELLA MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC.
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A court that obtains jurisdiction over a defendant through constructive service lacks the in personam jurisdiction necessary to enter a deficiency judgment, which is a personal money judgment.
[1] Constructive service in a foreclosure action confers only in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction and does not confer the in personam jurisdiction necessary for a court to en…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“A personal money judgment necessitates in personam jurisdiction over the defendant, but constructive service confers only in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction upon the court.”
Court's statement of the jurisdictional principle governing deficiency judgments
HMC Assets, LLC sought to foreclose on property owned by Luis Avila and Cristine Rosenhaim. HMC could not locate the Avilas for personal service and i…
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IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
LUIS AVILA AND CRISTINE ROSENHAIM,
Appellants,
v. Case No. 5D18-1929
HMC ASSETS, LLC SOLELY IN ITS
CAPACITY AS SEPARATE TRUSTEE
FOR CAM XVIII TRUST AND RIVIERA
BELLA MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC.,
Appellees.
________________________________/
Opinion filed May 31, 2019
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Volusia County, Sandra C. Upchurch, Judge.
Tanner Andrews, of Tanner Andrews, P.A., Deland, for Appellant.
Ashland R. Medley and Wendy S. Griffith, of Ashland Medley Law, PLLC, Coral Springs, for Appellee, HMC Assets, LLC Solely in its Capacity as Separate Trustee for CAM XVIII Trust. No appearance for Appellee, Riviera Bella Master Association, Inc.
COHEN, J.
Luis Avila and Cristine Rosenhaim (“the Avilas”) appeal the final summary judgment of foreclosure entered in favor of HMC Assets, LLC Solely in its Capacity as
2 Separate Trustee for Cam XVIII Trust and Riviera Bella Master Association, Inc. (“HMC”). We affirm without discussion. However, we write to comment upon the trial court’s reservation of jurisdiction to enter a deficiency judgment against the Avilas following the foreclosure sale. HMC attempted to effectuate personal service on the Avilas but could not locate them. Instead, it properly effectuated constructive service. The Avilas maintained their objection to personal jurisdiction throughout the proceedings. The trial court entered a final summary judgment of foreclosure in favor of HMC and reserved jurisdiction to enter further orders, including a deficiency judgment against the Avilas following the foreclosure sale. “A personal money judgment necessitates in personam jurisdiction over the defendant,” but “[c]onstructive service confers only in rem or quasi in rem jurisdiction upon the court.” Honegger v. Coaster Fertilizer & Supply, Inc., 712 So. 2d 1161, 1162 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (citations omitted). Accordingly, the court never acquired the necessary in personam jurisdiction to enter a deficiency judgment against the Avilas, and entry of such would be improper.1
AFFIRMED.
EVANDER, C.J., and EDWARDS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- NCNB Nat'l Bank OF Fla. v. Pyramid Corp., 497 So. 2d 1353 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- Honegger v. Coastal Fertilizer & Supply, Inc., 712 So. 2d 1161 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)