Haney v. Olin Corp.

• Decision Date: 08 March 1971
• Docket Number: No. 70--1059,70--1059
• Citation: 245 So.2d 671
• Parties: Russell R. HANEY, Appellant, v. OLIN CORPORATION, formerly known as Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a corporation, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 671

245 So.2d 671

Russell R. HANEY, Appellant, v. OLIN CORPORATION, formerly known as Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, a corporation, Appellee.

No. 70--1059.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.

March 8, 1971.

William M. Rowland, Jr., of Rowland & Petruska, Orlando, for appellant.

Walton B. Hallowes, Jr., of Maguire, Voorhis & Wells, Orlando, for appellee.

OWEN, Judge.

Mr. Russell B. Haney brings this interlocutory appeal to review an order denying a motion to quash personal service of process upon him.

The question presented is whether under the facts of this case there was a sufficient delivery to appellant of a copy of the original process and a copy of the complaint as to constitute valid service under the provisions of F.S. section 48.031, F.S.A. The trial court answered this in the affirmative and we believe correctly so.

Appellant and his wife were defendants in a civil action filed in the Circuit Court of Orange County by Olin Corporation, appellee herein. Process was issued and delivered to the sheriff for service. At approximately midnight on October 12, 1970, Deputy Sheriff Trainum was sitting in his parked automobile on the street in front of the Haney residence. At that time the deputy observed the front door of the residence open and two ladies (subsequently identified as Mrs. Haney and Mrs. Durham) emerge and walk toward the street. The front door of the house remained open with Mr. Haney standing at the doorway. Deputy Trainum walked from his vehicle toward the two ladies, identifying himself as a deputy sheriff. Mrs. Haney immediately turned around and ran into the house through the front door, hollering, 'No! No!' The deputy sheriff followed her to the front door but before he reached there, the door was closed in his face. He then knocked on the door, rang the doorbell, identified himself in a loud voice and announced that he had with him copies of summons and complaint in the civil action which were to be served upon Mr. and Mrs. Haney. When no one would open the door or respond to his knocking and ringing of the doorbell, he proceeded to read the summons in a loud voice and then announced that he was leaving a copy of the summons and complaint for Mr. Haney on the door step and that he was likewise leaving a copy of the summons and complaint with Mr. Haney as service upon his wife. The deputy then returned to his vehicle and left the area. The following morning Mrs. Durham, who was business manager of Mr. Haney's automotive business, returned to the Haney residence picked up the papers lying on the door step and took them inside the house where she laid them on a table. Although neither Mr. Haney nor his wife looked at the suit papers, they did ask Mrs. Durham what the papers were and when she informed them that the papers were from the Olin Corporation, Mr. Haney instructed Mrs. Durham to take them back to the office. Mrs. Durham did take the papers with her when she left the Haney residence that afternoon.

The real purpose of the service of summons is to give proper notice to the defendant in the case that he is answerable to the claim of plaintiff. Klosenski v. Flaherty, Fla.1959, 116 So.2d 767; State ex rel. Merritt v. Heffernan, 1940, 142 Fla. 496, 195 So. 145; Arcadia Citrus Growers Ass'n. v. Hollingsworth, 1938, 135 Fla. 322, 185 So. 431 and 25 Fla.Jur., Process, § 3. The major purpose of the constitutional provision which guarantees 'due process' is to make certain that when a person is sued he has notice of the suit and an opportunity to defend. State ex rel. Weber v. Register, Fla.1953, 67 So.2d 619. It is our view that this purpose is fulfilled and the statutory requirement of delivery met by the facts of this case. An officer's reasonable attempt to effect personal service of process upon a person in his own home, when the person...