Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Family Law Procedure

What is service of process in a Florida family law case? When a petition for divorce is filed, for example, the spouse filing the petition is responsible for ensuring that the other spouse receives a copy of the petition. The other spouse must receive the petition in a manner allowed by law. The most common manner is service of process via a process server. In Florida, this is a person licensed to deliver lawsuit papers. A process server’s compliance with service rules was an issue in the case Becker v. Becker, 3D22-0352 (Fla. 3d DCA July 20, 2022).

The husband in this divorce case attempted to have the wife served with his petition. After the wife was served by a process server, she filed a motion to dismiss, alleging service was improper. The process server testified at a hearing on the motion that he approached the wife outside of her father’s house, and let her know that he had a summons and complaint, and that she was being served with a lawsuit. The wife went inside her father’s house without accepting the papers, whereupon the process server left the papers in a conspicuous location and yelled that the wife had been served. The process server also called and left the wife a voicemail explaining service of process. The wife did not deny that she received the papers or that service was attempted, but she relied on the process server’s failure to explain the contents of the papers to her. The trial court denied her motion to dismiss and she appealed.

The appellate court found no error in the trial court’s decision. It reasoned “[The wife] cites in her reply to cases in which this court quashed service based on either the process server’s failure to identify the recipient, or failure to explain the contents of the papers served. See Montano, 472 So. 2d at 1378 (reversing trial court order and quashing service where process server failed to identify recipient of service); see also Bache, Halsey, Stuart, Shields, Inc. v. Mendoza, 400 So. 2d 558, 559 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (affirming trial court order setting aside default where deputy sheriff who served papers did not recall explaining contents and ‘that service consisted solely of a knock on the door, a man saying ‘Mendoza’, and delivery of papers’). However, the cases cited contain critical distinctions from the record evidence in this matter. Here, unlike Montano, no one disputes that the process server identified [the wife], the correct recipient, and attempted to serve her. Here, unlike Mendoza, the record contains testimony that the process server did more than simply drop off papers; he explained he had a summons and complaint relating to a lawsuit and screamed into the house after leaving the papers that [the wife] was served. Additionally, here, unlike Mendoza, the record contains testimony that [the wife] actively evaded service, thereby frustrating any attempt at further explanation or conversation about the contents. The trial court correctly concluded that the process server’s actions in the face of [the wife’s] attempt to evade service constituted compliance with the relevant statute.”

Schedule your meeting to discuss your case with a Miami divorce lawyer for specific advice.