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Trial & litigation Section
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distinguished , with many similar names and no confirmed photographs , can be tricky . It can be downright frustrating when seeking an individual who does not appear to have a paper trail . There are also business entities with phantom registered agents , which the practitioner discovers when the process server reports that the “ suite ” in the registered agent ’ s address is actually a box at a mail drop , or perhaps a vacant office . There are many variations on these themes , but the issue remains important . Perfection of service is “[ i ] ndispensable to the jurisdiction of the Court ” 2 and can be raised any time , even after entry of judgment , if the defense of insufficient service of process has not been waived by a general appearance .
Our own Representative Mike Beltran 3 of South Hillsborough sponsored HB 545 last year with the goal of simplifying , harmonizing , and modernizing the service of process rules to increase efficiency in civil litigation . The full catalogue of adjustments is beyond the scope of this commentary , but important and needed changes provide clear requirements to address the problem of phantom registered agents and allow flexibility to a trial court to fashion an alternative process when conventional service is unfeasible .
The changes also streamline service in foreign countries , allowing any method of service acceptable in the foreign country . Anyone who has tried to serve process in a country that is not a signatory of the Hague Convention has learned about the expensive , time-consuming , and ultimately uncertain Letters Rogatory 4 process that takes many months and costs thousands of dollars ( U . S . State Department charges alone exceed $ 2,275 ). 5 Letters Rogatory have , in many cases , not proved to be viable solutions to accomplish foreign service of process . The new statutes remedy that deficiency and allow foreign service without treaty .
Practitioners may wish to read the enrolled bill 6 to see the line-byline changes or review the Judiciary Committee ’ s bill summary 7 for a broad overview . If that is not enough , the Business Law Section of the Florida Bar created a fivepage flowchart 8 to help us navigate the new requirements and to provide us with some useful practice to prepare for our future . n
1 https :// www-media . floridabar . org / uploads / 2023 / 01 / 164654769- Supreme-Court-Order . pdf .
2
Opella v . Bayview Loan Servicing , LLC , 48 So . 3d 185 , 187-88 ( Fla . 3d DCA 2010 ) ( quoting Bussey v . Legislative Auditing Committee of Legislature , 298 So . 2d 219 , 221 ( Fla . 1st DCA 1974 )).
3 https :// www . myfloridahouse . gov / Sections / Representatives / details . aspx ? MemberId = 4747 .
4 https :// www . justice . gov / sites / default / files / civil / legacy / 2014 / 08 / 08 / 28 _ USCA _ s _ 1781 . pdf .
5 https :// www . ecfr . gov / current / title-22 / chapter-I / subchapter-C / part- 22 / section-22.1 .
6 https :// www . flsenate . gov / Session / Bill / 2022 / 1062 / BillText / er / PDF .
7 https :// www . flsenate . gov / Committees / BillSummaries / 2022 / html / 2714 .
8 https :// flabizlaw . org / wp-content / uploads / 2022 / 11 / Service-of- Processall . pdf .
Author : Morgan W . Streetman – Streetman Law
M A Y - J U N 2 0 2 3 | H C B A L A W Y E R
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