Hauser v. Schiff
Decision Date | 11 January 1977 |
Docket Number | No. 76--203,76--203 |
Citation | 341 So.2d 531 |
Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Parties | Joseph HAUSER, Appellant, v. Neil SCHIFF, as Receiver of Carriage House Apartment Hotel, Appellee. |
Ciravolo & Feldman, Miami and Howard Horowitz, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Smith, Mandler, Smith, Parker & Werner, Joe Unger, Miami Beach, for appellee.
Before HENDRY, C.J., PEARSON, J., and SACK, MARTIN, Associate Judge.
In an attempt to perfect personal service of process upon the appellant, one Freddy Carreras went to the office of Fleetwood Insurance Agency, on the 6th floor of 3550 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. Mr. Carreras, upon his arrival spoke to a secretary and informed her he had come to serve the appellant with a paper. Thereafter, without seeing the appellant, Mr. Carreras left the summons and complaint with the secretary and departed. He did not, at any time, inform the secretary as to the nature of the papers.
Based on the foregoing, the appellant moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction over the person, insufficiency of process, and insufficiency of service of process on the ground that process was not properly served pursuant to Section 48.031, Florida Statutes (1975). By this appeal, the appellant challenges the correctness of the trial court's denial of the motion to dismiss. We agree with the appellant and hereby reverse.
Section 48.031, Florida Statutes (1975) reads as follows:
Statutes governing substituted service of process must be strictly construed and must be strictly complied with. American Liberty Insurance Company v. Maddox, 238 So.2d 154 (Fla.2d D.C.A.1970); Atlas Van Lines, Inc. v. Rossmoore, 271 So.2d 31 (Fla.2d D.C.A.1972). The term 'usual place of abode' contained in Section 48.031, Florida Statutes (1975) means where the person is actually living at the time of service. State v. Heffernan, 142 Fla. 496, 195 So. 145 (1940). Furthermore, a 'person of the family' may be a visitor for a prolonged period to the abode of the person to be served, but there is no question that...
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