CopyCited 1 times | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...All Appellants are located in Malta, and service on Appellants was
subject to the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and
Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (“Hague Convention”
or “Convention”).
On May 7, 2024, DRT moved for service on Appellants via email under
section 48.197(1)(c), Florida Statutes (2024), citing the prior extensive email
communications with Appellant Suarez....
...will
be deemed to have acquired jurisdiction over the defendant.”). Accordingly,
we affirm the non-final order as to Forsun based on waiver.
As to the merits, Appellants argue that in order for a trial court to permit
email service under section 48.197(1)(c), Florida Statutes (2024), DRT must
show that it exercised due diligence in exhausting all avenues of service
under the Hague Convention before a trial court permits email service. We
disagree.
Section 48.197(1)(c) provides that service on foreign defendants may
be made ....
...party seeking service shows is reasonably calculated to give
actual notice of the proceedings and is not prohibited by
international agreement, as the court orders.
4
(Emphasis added). Based on the plain language of section
48.197(1)(c)
(foreign service) as compared to section
48.102 (domestic service), the
domestic service statute explicitly requires a showing of due diligence prior
to permitting email service while the foreign service statute does not.2
...
...is presumed to have been excluded intentionally.” USAA Cas. Ins. Co. v.
Emergency Physicians, Inc.,
393 So. 3d 257, 261 (Fla. 5th DCA 2024)
(quoting Bd. of Trs. of Fla. State Univ. v. Esposito,
991 So. 2d 924, 926 (Fla.
1st DCA 2008).
Section
48.197(1)(c) is modeled after Rule 4(f)(3) of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure....
...It is merely one means among several
which enables service of process on an international defendant.
Rio Properties, Inc. v. Rio Intern. Interlink,
284 F.3d 1007, 1015 (9th Cir.
2002).
We adopt the Ninth Circuit’s sound reasoning. Based on the plain
language of section
48.197(1)(c), the foreign service statute does not require
a showing of due diligence prior to the granting of email service. There is no
hierarchy of service. Service via email is one way among several in which a
Florida plaintiff can serve an international defendant.
Pursuant to section
48.197(1)(c), the only limitations on allowing
service via email are: the email service is court ordered, it is reasonably
calculated to give actual notice of the proceedings, and it is not prohibited by
international agreement....
...to decide issues of fact. Yet, Appellants neither requested an evidentiary
hearing nor disputed that DRT’s service by email gave all three Appellants
actual notice. Additionally, Appellants challenge to email service under
9
section 48.197(1)(c) raised purely legal issues....
