Florida Senate - 2018                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 904
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì520686BÎ520686                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/30/2018           .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
                                       .                                
       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————




       —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
       The Committee on Judiciary (Steube) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 48.021, Florida
    6  Statutes, is amended to read:
    7         48.021 Process; by whom served.—
    8         (1) All process shall be served by the sheriff of the
    9  county where the person to be served is found, except initial
   10  nonenforceable civil process, criminal witness subpoenas, and
   11  criminal summonses may be served by a special process server
   12  appointed by the sheriff as provided for in this section or by a
   13  certified process server as provided for in s. 48.27 ss. 48.25
   14  48.31. Civil witness subpoenas shall may be served by any person
   15  authorized by rules of civil procedure.
   16         Section 2. Subsections (2) and (5) and paragraph (a) of
   17  subsection (6) of section 48.031, Florida Statutes, are amended
   18  to read:
   19         48.031 Service of process generally; service of witness
   20  subpoenas.—
   21         (2)(a) Substituted Substitute service may be made on the
   22  spouse of the person to be served may be made at any place in a
   23  the county by an individual authorized under s. 48.021 or s.
   24  48.27 to serve process in that county, if the cause of action is
   25  not an adversarial adversary proceeding between the spouse and
   26  the person to be served, if the spouse requests such service or
   27  the spouse is also a party to the action, and if the spouse and
   28  person to be served reside are residing together in the same
   29  dwelling, regardless of whether such dwelling is located in the
   30  county where substituted service is made.
   31         (b) Substituted Substitute service may be made on an
   32  individual doing business as a sole proprietorship at his or her
   33  place of business, during regular business hours, by serving the
   34  person in charge of the business at the time of service if two
   35  attempts to serve the owner are have been made at the place of
   36  business.
   37         (5) A person serving process shall place, on the first page
   38  only of at least one of the processes served, the date and time
   39  of service, his or her initials, and, if applicable, his or her
   40  identification number and initials for all service of process.
   41  The person serving process shall list on the return-of-service
   42  form all initial pleadings delivered and served along with the
   43  process. The person requesting service or the person authorized
   44  to serve the process shall file the return-of-service form with
   45  the court.
   46         (6)(a) If the only address for a person to be served which
   47  is discoverable through public records is a private mailbox, a
   48  virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite,
   49  substituted substitute service may be made by leaving a copy of
   50  the process with the person in charge of the private mailbox,
   51  virtual office, or executive office or mini suite, but only if
   52  the process server determines that the person to be served
   53  maintains a mailbox, a virtual office, or an executive office or
   54  mini suite at that location.
   55         Section 3. Subsection (4) of section 48.062, Florida
   56  Statutes, is amended to read:
   57         48.062 Service on a limited liability company.—
   58         (4) If the address provided for the registered agent,
   59  member, or manager is a residence, a or private mailbox, a
   60  virtual office, or an executive office or mini suite, service on
   61  the domestic or foreign limited liability company, domestic or
   62  foreign, may be made by serving the registered agent, member, or
   63  manager in accordance with s. 48.031.
   64         Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 48.194, Florida
   65  Statutes, is amended to read:
   66         48.194 Personal service outside state.—
   67         (1) Except as otherwise provided herein, service of process
   68  on persons outside of this state shall be made in the same
   69  manner as service within this state by any person officer
   70  authorized to serve process in the state where the person is
   71  served. No order of court is required. An affidavit of the
   72  officer shall be filed, stating the time, manner, and place of
   73  service. A The court may consider the return-of-service form
   74  described in s. 48.21 affidavit, or any other competent
   75  evidence, in determining whether service has been properly made.
   76  Service of process on persons outside the United States may be
   77  required to conform to the provisions of the Hague Convention on
   78  the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in
   79  Civil or Commercial Matters.
   80         Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 48.21, Florida
   81  Statutes, is amended to read:
   82         48.21 Return of execution of process.—
   83         (1) Each person who effects service of process shall note
   84  on a return-of-service form attached thereto, the date and time
   85  when it comes to hand, the date and time when it is served, the
   86  manner of service, the name of the person on whom it was served,
   87  and, if the person is served in a representative capacity, the
   88  position occupied by the person. The return-of-service form must
   89  list all pleadings served and be signed by the person who
   90  effects the service of process. However, a person who is
   91  authorized under this chapter to serve process and employed by a
   92  sheriff who effects such the service of process may sign the
   93  return-of-service form using an electronic signature certified
   94  by the sheriff.
   95         Section 6. Paragraphs (b) and (d) of subsection (1) of
   96  section 48.23, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   97         48.23 Lis pendens.—
   98         (1)
   99         (b)1. An action that is filed for specific performance or
  100  that is not based on a duly recorded instrument has no effect,
  101  except as between the parties to the proceeding, on the title
  102  to, or on any lien upon, the real or personal property unless a
  103  notice of lis pendens has been recorded and has not expired or
  104  been withdrawn or discharged.
  105         2. Any person acquiring for value an interest in, or lien
  106  upon, the real or personal property during the pendency of an
  107  action described in subparagraph 1., other than a party to the
  108  proceeding or the legal successor by operation of law, or
  109  personal representative, heir, or devisee of a deceased party to
  110  the proceeding, shall take such interest or lien exempt from all
  111  claims against the property that were filed in such action by
  112  the party who failed to record a notice of lis pendens or whose
  113  notice expired or was withdrawn or discharged, and from any
  114  judgment entered in the proceeding, notwithstanding the
  115  provisions of s. 695.01, as if such person had no actual or
  116  constructive notice of the proceeding or of the claims made
  117  therein or the documents forming the causes of action against
  118  the property in the proceeding.
  119         (d) Except for the interest of persons in possession or
  120  easements of use, the recording of such notice of lis pendens,
  121  provided that during the pendency of the proceeding it has not
  122  expired pursuant to subsection (2) or been withdrawn or
  123  discharged, constitutes a bar to the enforcement against the
  124  property described in the notice of all interests and liens,
  125  including, but not limited to, federal tax liens and levies,
  126  unrecorded at the time of recording the notice unless the holder
  127  of any such unrecorded interest or lien intervenes in such
  128  proceedings within 30 days after the recording of the notice. If
  129  the holder of any such unrecorded interest or lien does not
  130  intervene in the proceedings and if such proceedings are
  131  prosecuted to a judicial sale of the property described in the
  132  notice, the property shall be forever discharged from all such
  133  unrecorded interests and liens. A valid recorded notice of lis
  134  pendens of such proceedings prosecuted to a judicial sale
  135  remains in effect through the recording of any instrument
  136  transferring title to the property pursuant to the final
  137  judgment unless it expires, is withdrawn, or it is otherwise
  138  discharged. If the notice of lis pendens expires or is withdrawn
  139  or discharged, the expiration, withdrawal, or discharge of the
  140  notice does not affect the validity of any unrecorded interest
  141  or lien.
  142         Section 7. The changes made by this act to s. 48.23,
  143  Florida Statutes, are intended to clarify existing law and shall
  144  apply to actions pending on the effective date of this act.
  145         Section 8. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
  146  48.27, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
  147         48.27 Certified process servers.—
  148         (2)(a) The addition of a person’s name to the list
  149  authorizes him or her to serve initial nonenforceable civil
  150  process on a person found within the circuit where the process
  151  server is certified when a civil action is has been filed
  152  against such person in the circuit court or in a county court in
  153  the state. Upon filing an action in circuit or county court, a
  154  person may select from the list for the circuit where the
  155  process is to be served one or more certified process servers to
  156  serve initial nonenforceable civil process.
  157         Section 9. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
  158  
  159  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  160  And the title is amended as follows:
  161         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  162  and insert:
  163                        A bill to be entitled                      
  164         An act relating to judicial process; amending s.
  165         48.021, F.S.; revising authority of special process
  166         servers; revising a cross-reference; requiring that
  167         civil witness subpoenas be served by certain persons;
  168         amending s. 48.031, F.S.; revising requirements for
  169         substituted service on the spouse of the person to be
  170         served; revising requirements for documenting service
  171         of process; conforming terminology; amending s.
  172         48.062, F.S.; revising requirements for service on
  173         limited liability companies; amending s. 48.194, F.S.;
  174         revising provisions specifying who may serve process
  175         outside of the state; revising requirements for
  176         documenting that service has been properly made
  177         outside the state; amending s. 48.21, F.S.; revising
  178         requirements for return-of-service forms; authorizing
  179         certain persons to electronically sign return-of
  180         service forms; amending s. 48.23, F.S.; providing that
  181         a person who acquires for a value a lien on property
  182         during the course of specified legal actions takes
  183         such lien free of claims in certain circumstances;
  184         specifying the effect of a valid, recorded notice of
  185         lis pendens in certain circumstances involving a
  186         judicial sale; providing applicability; amending s.
  187         48.27, F.S.; revising authority of certified process
  188         servers; conforming terminology; providing an
  189         effective date.