Estela v. Cavalcanti
| Decision Date | 21 December 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 3D11–2208.,3D11–2208. |
| Citation | 76 So.3d 1054 |
| Parties | Jose Luis ESTELA, Appellant, v. Roberto CAVALCANTI, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
76 So.3d 1054
Jose Luis ESTELA, Appellant,
v.
Roberto CAVALCANTI, Appellee.
No. 3D11–2208.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Dec. 21, 2011.
[76 So.3d 1054]
Arnaldo Velez, Coral Gables, for appellant.
Jones & Adams, P.A., and W. Steven Adams, Miami, and Jorge Eduardo Porro, Jr., for appellee.
[76 So.3d 1055]
Before WELLS, C.J., and CORTIÑAS and ROTHENBERG, JJ.
ROTHENBERG, J.
Jose Luis Estela (“Estela”) appeals a non-final order denying his motion to quash service and to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. We reverse and remand with directions to quash service of process.
After filing an amended complaint against three named defendants, including Estela, Roberto Cavalcanti (“Cavalcanti”) made several failed attempts to personally serve Estela at his last known address in Key Biscayne. In an effort to locate Estela, Cavalcanti ordered a skip trace, which revealed that Estela owned homesteaded property in Miami Beach. Cavalcanti attempted to serve Estela at the Miami Beach address, but his attempts were unsuccessful.
Thereafter, Cavalcanti filed a motion for leave to serve Estela by publication, and attached an affidavit of diligent search. Estela, who made a special appearance for the purpose of filing a motion to quash Cavalcanti's attempt to serve him by publication, provided to Cavalcanti an address he claimed was his Costa Rican address. After conducting a hearing, the trial court granted Estela's motion for leave to serve by publication.
For four consecutive weeks, Cavalcanti published a notice of action, in the Miami Daily Business Review, which required Estela to respond on or before June 21, 2011. On June 21, 2011, Estela filed a motion to quash the attempted service and to dismiss, and subsequently filed an amendment to the motion. Following a hearing, the trial court entered an order denying Estela's motion. This appeal followed.
The issue presented is whether a plaintiff can serve a defendant by publication if the defendant provided, in his motion to quash the plaintiff's attempt to serve him by publication, an out-of-state address where the defendant may be personally served, and where the trial court has not made a finding that the defendant was attempting to evade service. The standard of review is de novo. Mecca Multimedia, Inc. v. Kurzbard, 954 So.2d 1179, 1181 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007).
Section 49.021, Florida Statutes (2010), provides, in pertinent part: “Where personal service of process or, if appropriate, service of...
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...As the Court stated previously, the Florida statutes governing service of process "are strictly construed." Estela v. Cavalcanti, 76 So. 3d 1054, 1055 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2011); see also Bedford Computer Corp. v. Graphic Press, Inc., 484 So. 2d 1225, 1227 (Fla. 1986) (per curiam); Sunblest......
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Grange Ins. v. Walton Transp., CASE NO. 3:13-cv-977-J-34MCR
...have been made at his last known address. The statutes governing service of process "are strictly construed." Estela v. Cavalcanti, 76 So.3d 1054, 1055 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2011). See also Bedford Computer Corp. v. Graphic Press, Inc., 484 So.2d 1225, 1227 (Fla. 1986) (per curiam); Sunblest......
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Civil litigation
...A defendant can challenge service by publication on the grounds that a reasonable inquiry was not made. [ Estela v. Cavalcanti , 76 So.3d 1054, 1055 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011) (reversing where plaintiff failed to show that an effort was made to serve the defendant before resorting to service by pub......