PALMER JOHNSON YACHTS, A WISCONSIN CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
RAY RICHARD, INC., D/B/A GULFSTREAM YACHT BROKERS, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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.
Palmer Johnson Yachts appealed the denial of its motion to quash service of process in a breach of contract action brought by a yacht broker. The court reversed, holding that the plaintiff failed to plead sufficient facts establishing jurisdiction over the Wisconsin corporation and failed to comply with statutory requirements for substituted service of process.
The court held that the complaint did not allege sufficient facts to justify application of the substituted service statutes, that the plaintiff bore the burden of pleading facts clearly justifying the applicability of substituted service, and that the record lacked an affidavit from the officer who made service, which is a jurisdictional requisite under Section 48.193(2).
[1] A plaintiff must plead facts in the complaint that clearly justify the applicability of substituted service statutes to subject a non-resident defendant to the court's ju…
[2] A complaint alleging a non-resident corporation is "doing business in the State of Florida" is insufficient to establish amenability to service of process under Florida s…
Previewing 2 of 5 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“It is plaintiff's burden to 'plead' (present) facts which clearly justify as a matter of law the applicability of the substituted service statutes in order to meet a challenge to such service.”
Establishes the core holding that plaintiff must affirmatively plead jurisdictional facts to support substituted service
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePalmer Johnson Yachts, a Wisconsin corporation, was served with process in Wisconsin in a suit brought by Ray Richard, Inc., a Florida corporation ope…
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 Amenability To Jurisdiction cases and more on FLexlaw
PEARSON, Judge.
This interlocutory appeal is by the defendant Palmer Johnson Yachts, a Wisconsin corporation, from an order denying its Motion to Quash Service of Process. The plaintiff states that service of process upon the Wisconsin corporation was attempted by the plaintiff pursuant to Sections 48.181 and 48.193, Florida Statutes (1975). We reverse upon a holding that the complaint and the evidentiary matters before the court at the time of the denial of defendant’s motion are not sufficient to establish that the defendant was amenable to service under the statutes and that the record submitted does not show compliance with the statutes.1 A party’s amenability to the jurisdiction of the court may be reached by a motion to quash for insufficiency of process or insufficiency of service of process. Elmex Corporation v. Atlantic Federal Savings & Loan Ass’n., 325 So. 2d 58, 61 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). The motion to quash filed by the defendant set forth two grounds: (1) “The complaint served on defendant in Wisconsin fails to allege facts as required to subject it to the jurisdiction of this court . ” (2) . . defendant is not subject to the jurisdiction of this court . ’ . . ” An extensive affidavit of an officer of the defendant corporation denied contact with the State of Florida and, in particular, doing business with the plaintiff in this state.
Defendant’s first ground is clearly supported by the record. The complaint simply states: “Defendant PALMER-JOHNSON, is a Wisconsin corporation doing business in the State of Florida.” Thereafter, plaintiff seeks recovery upon an oral contract to pay the commission for the sale of a yacht. It was alleged that the yacht was ultimately sold in Wisconsin to a purchaser produced by the plaintiff.
In the definitive opinion of Elmex Corporation v. Atlantic Federal Savings & Loan Ass’n., 325 So. 2d 58, 61 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), that court pointed out that “It is plaintiff’s burden to ‘plead’ (present) facts which clearly justify as a matter of law the applicability of the substituted service statutes in order to meet a challenge to such service.” See also Chase Manhattan Bank v. Banco Del Atlantico, 343 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). Further, it is necessary that the jurisdictional basis for service upon a non-resident defendant be alleged in the complaint. See Joyce Bros. Storage & Van Company v. Piechalak, 343 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); and Lopez v. La Fuente, 343 So. 2d 930 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). The motion to quash service of process should have been granted upon ground (1).
We note also that the record does not contain an affidavit of the officer who made service in Wisconsin. This affidavit is a jurisdictional requisite for substituted service pursuant to Section 48.193(2), Florida Statutes (1975). See Section 48.194, Florida Statutes (1975).
The order appealed is reversed with directions to grant the motion to quash.
Reversed.
. The briefs of the parties indicate that an evidentiary hearing was had but the court’s order does not mention a hearing other than argument of counsel. No record of an evidentiary hearing is included in the record submitted.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Pelycado Onroerend Goed B.V. v. Ruthenberg, 635 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994)…ant. Sun State Assocs., Ltd. v. Continental III. Nat’l Bank Trust Co. of Chicago, 481 So. 2d 543, 544 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Caribe & Panama Invs., S.A. v. Christensen, 375 So. 2d 601, 603 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Palmer Johnson Yachts v. Ray Richard, Inc., 347 So. 2d 779, 780 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). When these allegations are not made, appellate courts have quashed service and vacated the judgment against nonresident defendants. See Firestone Steel Prods. Co. of Canada v. Snell, 423 So. 2d 979, 980 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); T…
-
Suroor Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan v. First Inv. Corp., 700 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997)…e of action arose from these business activities. See § 48.181(1), Fla. Stat. (1995).2 However, it is the plaintiffs burden to plead facts which clearly establish the applicability of the long arm statute. Palmer Johnson Yachts v. Ray Richard, Inc., 347 So. 2d 779 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). See also Wartski v. Sencer, 615 So. 2d 794 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993). If the jurisdictional allegations are not sufficient, the trial court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Pelycado Onroerend Goed B.V. v. [*141] Ruthenbe…
-
Yinto Bejar & State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Zenaida Garcia, 354 So. 2d 964 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…s required by law that the defendant Bejar as the driver of one of the automobiles involved in the accident was a non-resident of Florida sufficient to invoke personal jurisdiction over said defendant. See Palmer Johnson Yachts v. Ray Richard, Inc., 347 So. 2d 779 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Joyce Bros. Storage and Van Co. v. Piechalak, 343 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Esberger v. First Florida Business Consultants, Inc., 338 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). Both of the above deficiencies are fatal to the purported se…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- The Elmex Corp. v. Atl. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n OF Fort Lauderdale, 325 So. 2d 58 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)
- Joyce Bros. Storage & VAN Co. v. Piechalak, 343 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. v. Banco del Atlantico, 343 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- Lopez v. la Fuente, 343 So. 2d 930 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)