USA – FLORIDA Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisha D. Roy and Carolyn Ware, Sasser, Cestero & Roy
If a person is a Florida resident the court has in per ‑ sonam jurisdiction. Patten v Mokher , 184 So. 29 (Fla. 1938). A person can also voluntarily appear in Florida, consenting to jurisdiction. See Brown v Brown , 786 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). If a party is personally served while voluntarily in Florida not by fraud or for another court appearance, in personam jurisdiction is established. See Wolfson v Wolfson , 455 So. 2d 577, 578 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984). Lastly, in personam juris ‑ diction may be acquired through Florida’s long-arm statute (§ 48.193 Fla. Stat). A party may timely contest personal jurisdiction. Fla. Fam. L. R. P. 12.140 (b)(2). However, if a party seeks affirmative relief or participates in the case without contesting jurisdiction, the objection is waived. Scott- Lubin v Lubin , 49 So. 3d 838, 840 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). A party is able to apply to stay proceedings in order to pursue divorce proceedings in a foreign jurisdiction. A party may file a motion to stay or for an anti-suit injunction. Florida courts consider the following fac ‑ tors when addressing this issue. • Florida is a first-to-serve state not a first-to-file state. • Mabie v Garden St. Mgmt. Corp. , 397 So. 2d 920, 921 (Fla. 1981) (citing • Martinez v Martinez , 153 Fla. 753, 15 So. 2d 842 (Fla. 1943)). • Where courts within one sovereignty have concur ‑ rent jurisdiction, the court that first exercises its jurisdiction acquires exclusive jurisdiction to pro ‑ ceed with that case. This is called the “principle of priority”. 20 Am. Jur.2d Courts § 128 (1965). • The “principle of priority” is not applicable between sovereign jurisdictions as a matter of duty. As a matter of comity, however, a court of one state may, in its discretion, stay a proceeding pending before it on the grounds that a case involving the same subject matter and parties is pending in the court of another state. • Bedingfield v Bedingfield , 417 So. 2d 1047, 1050 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). • This does not mean that a trial court must always stay proceedings when the prior proceedings involving the same issues and parties are pend ‑ ing before a court in another state but only that
ordinarily this should be the result. “There may well be circumstances under which the denial of a stay could be justified upon a showing of the prospects for undue delay in the disposition of a prior action”. Norris v Norris , 573 So. 2d 1085, 1086 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (citing • Schwartz v DeLoach , 453 So. 2d 454, 455 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)). In cases regarding children’s issues, if the child(ren) had been a resident of Florida for six months prior to filing the petition for dissolution of marriage and Florida is the home state of the child(ren), the court may stay all other issues and retain jurisdiction to determine the pending child-related issues. See Nor- ris , at 1086. Florida courts may hear some financial claims after a foreign divorce for the purpose of enforcement. • Florida courts may enforce a foreign court’s alimony award, however, it may not be modified. The foreign court retains continuing and exclusive jurisdiction over the alimony award. § 88.2051 (6) and § 88.2061 (3), Fla. Stat. • Full faith and credit are given to all final and non- modifiable judgments from other states entered in accordance with constitutional due process rights to all parties. • Fisher v Fisher , 613 So. 2d 1370 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). • Foreign judgments may be domesticated in Florida pursuant to §55.501–§55.509, the Florida Enforce ‑ ment of Foreign Judgments Act. 2.2 Service and Process in Financial Proceedings Service of process for financial proceedings may be accomplished by personal service, substitute service or constructive service. Service may be made by an officer authorised by law to serve process or by any competent individual, not interested in the action and appointed by the court. If service is not effectuated within 120 days after filing the initial pleading, the court must direct that service
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