ABNER WYNN GORDON, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,
v.
THE JOHN DEERE COMPANY ET AL., DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES

Fla. | 1972-07-05
No. 41743
ROBERTS, C. J., and ADKINS, Mc-CAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.
264 So. 2d 419 Florida Supreme Court (1972) Caution
Cited by 58 cases

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.


Holding

Florida Statutes Section 48.182, enacted in 1970, does not apply retroactively to allow service of process for a wrongful act committed prior to its enactment.


Headnotes

[1] A statute conferring in personam jurisdiction over nonresidents is generally not applicable to validate attempted service of process made prior to its effective date when…

[2] A statute creating a new remedy, rather than operating in furtherance of a pre-existing remedy, does not have retrospective effect unless expressly provided.

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

Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff sued for personal injuries allegedly occurring in 1965. Service was attempted under Florida Statutes § 48.182, enacted in 1970 with an effec…

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.


Opinion of the Court
BOYD, Justice.

BOYD, Justice.

This cause is before us on certificate from the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit,1 pursuant to Rule 4.61, Florida Appellate Rules, 32 F.S.A. The question certified is as follows:

“Whether or not Florida Statutes, Section 48.182 (1970),2 applies retroactively to allow service under its provisions as to an alleged wrongful act committed prior to the enactment of the Statute.”

The action commenced with the filing of a suit for personal injuries by Abner Wynn Gordon, appellant herein, in the United States District Court of Appeal for the Northern District of Florida. The complaint was filed on July 18, 1969, and alleged injuries resulting from an accident occurring on July 19, 1965. Florida Stat*420utes § 48.182, F.S.A. (set out supra footnote 2), sought to be used to obtain service on the defendant, was enacted in 1970 and has an effective date of July 1, 1970. Service attempted under Florida Statutes § 48.161 and § 48.181, F.S.A. was quashed by the United States District Court. No question has been raised on appeal or in this certificate concerning § 48.161 or § 48.181.

The United States District Court, in granting the motion to quash service under § 48.182, held:3

“With reference to the Florida statutes, it has been held that an amended statute could not be considered procedural and could not operate retrospectively when there was no pre-existing remedy, either because there was no previous method of service provided, or because the methods of service differed. * * * In Grammer v. Roman, 174 So.2d 443 (Fla.App.1965), an amendment to a statute extending the remedies therein to third parties dealing with trustees under certain deeds of trust was held to be remedial in nature, and therefore could operate retrospectively. However, that amendment expressly provided that it was to be remedial. F.S. § 48.182, F.S.A. contains no such provision, and does not operate in furtherance of a pre-ex-isting remedy, but rather operates to create a new remedy. Thus it falls within the proscription against retrospective operation. In addition, '* * * the authorities are in agreement that a long-arm statute * * * is not applicable so as to validate an attempted service of process made prior to its effective date and jurisdictionally defective when made’. Annot. 19 A.L.R.3d 131, 141. This is the situation we have here.”

The decision of the Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District, in Robert E. Marx, Inc. v. Scarney,4 is in accord with the Federal District Court’s decision in the instant case. In the Robert E. Marx case, the District Court of Appeal held that Florida Statutes § 48.182, F.S.A., had no retroactive application, stating: 5

“It will be noted that the substituted service which was quashed by the order now on appeal was predicated on the new section 48.182, relating to commission of a wrongful act outside the state which causes loss or injury to a person or property within the state. However, since the claimed wrongful action (breach of contract) took place prior to the effective date of the statute relied upon as a basis for substituted service, as indicated by the allegations of the initial complaint, the use of the subsequently enacted ‘wrongful action’ statute for substituted service was not authorized’ in this instance. That is so because that amendment or addition to Chapter 48 did not have retrospective effect. It was so held, and we feel correctly so, in Gordon v. John Deere Company, D.C., N.D.Fla.1970, 320 F.Supp. 293.”

After argument and upon consideration of the briefs and authorities cited,6 we have concluded that the statute is not to be applied retroactively and that the question certified must, accordingly, be answered in the negative.

It is so ordered.

ROBERTS, C. J., and ADKINS, Mc-CAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By (29 total)

  • AB CTC v. Morejon, 324 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1975)
    …r Fla.Stat. § 48.181 or § 48.182, and such decision if based upon § 48.181 would conflict with Fawcett Publications, Inc. v. Rand, 144 So. 2d 512 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962), and if based upon Fla.Stat. § 48.182, would conflict with Gordon v. John Deere Co., 264 So. 2d 419 (Fla.1972), we have conflict jurisdiction. Respondent filed a complaint against petitioner and Bermil Industries for damages as a result of an accident occurring in 1971. The accident, which resulted in serious personal injury to respondent, was al…
  • …statute10 would permit Florida courts to exercise in personam jurisdiction over a person who commits a tort outside the state but which has consequences within the state. As indicated in Gordon v. John Deere Co., supra, and Gordon v. John Deere Co., 264 So. 2d 419 (Fla.1972) on question certified by the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, 451 F. 2d 234 (5th Cir. 1971), the statute creates a new remedy and extends Florida long-arm jurisdiction to areas which it was previously unable to reach. Again…
  • Conley v. Boyle Drug Co., 570 So. 2d 275 (Fla. 1990)
    …ow service under its provisions as to an alleged wrongful act committed prior to the enactment of the statute. See Public Gas Co. v. Weatherhead Co., 409 So. 2d 1026 (Fla.1982); AB CTC v. Morejon, 324 So. 2d 625 (Fla.1975); Gordon v. John Deere Co., 264 So. 2d 419 (Fla.1972). We reject Ms. Conley’s contention that this well-established prohibition against retroactive application of a Florida long-arm statute is only applicable in connection with the manner of service employed. A long-arm statute not only pre…

Previewing 3 of 29 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw