FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW MUCH WITNESS FEE DO I ADD?
Florida Statute 92.142 Witnesses; pay.—
(1) Witnesses in all cases, civil and criminal, in all courts, now or hereafter created, and witnesses summoned before any arbitrator or general or special magistrate appointed by the court shall receive for each day’s actual attendance (State Courts $5.00 and also 6 cents per mile) or (Federal Courts $40.00/day and also 50 cents per mile) for actual distance traveled to and from the courts. A witness in a criminal case required to appear in a county other than the county of his or her residence and residing more than 50 miles from the location of the trial shall be entitled to per diem and travel expenses at the same rate provided for state employees under s. 112.061, in lieu of any other witness fee.
(2) An employee of the state who is required, as a direct result of employment, to appear as an official witness to testify in the course of any action in any court of this state, or before an administrative law judge, a hearing officer, hearing examiner, or any board or commission of the state or of its agencies, instrumentalities, or political subdivisions, shall be considered to be on duty during such appearance and shall be entitled to per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061. Except as provided in s. 92.141 and as provided in this subsection, such employee shall be required to tender to the employing agency any witness fee and other expense reimbursement received by the employee for such appearance.
(3) Any witness subpoenaed to testify on behalf of the state in any action brought pursuant to s. 895.05 or chapter 542 who is required to travel outside his or her county of residence and more than 50 miles from his or her residence, or who is required to travel from out of state, shall be entitled to per diem and travel expenses at the same rate provided for state employees under s. 112.061 in lieu of any state witness fee.
WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR SERVING 5-DAY EVICTION SUMMONS?
Florida Statute 48.183 Service of process in action for possession of premises.—
(1) In an action for possession of any residential premises, including those under chapters 83, 723, and 513, or nonresidential premises, if the tenant cannot be found in the county or there is no person 15 years of age or older residing at the tenant’s usual place of abode in the county after at least two attempts to obtain service as provided above in this subsection, summons may be served by attaching a copy to a conspicuous place on the property described in the complaint or summons. The minimum time delay between the two attempts to obtain service shall be 6 hours. Nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting service of process on a tenant as is otherwise provided on defendants in civil cases.
(2) If a landlord causes or anticipates causing a defendant to be served with a summons and complaint solely by attaching them to some conspicuous place on the property described in the complaint or summons, the landlord shall provide the clerk of the court with an additional copy of the complaint and a prestamped envelope addressed to the defendant at the premises involved in the proceeding. The clerk of the court shall immediately mail the copy of the summons and complaint by first-class mail, note the fact of mailing in the docket, and file a certificate in the court file of the fact and date of mailing.
Service shall be effective on the date of posting or mailing, whichever occurs later, and at least 5 days must elapse from the date of service before a judgment for final removal of the defendant may be entered.
HOW DO I COMPUTE TIME? PG 86
Florida Rules of Judicial Administration, Rule 2.514 Computing and Extending Time
(a) Computing Time. The following rules apply in computing time periods specified in any rule of procedure, local rule, court order, or statute that does not specify a method of computing time.
(1) Period Stated in Days or a Longer Unit. When the period is stated in days or a longer unit of time:
(A) exclude the day of the event that triggers the period;
(B) count every day, including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays; and
(C) include the last day of the period, but if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, or falls within any period of time extended through an order of the chief justice under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.205(a)(2)(B)(iv), the period continues to run until the end of the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday and does not fall within any period of time extended through an order of the chief justice.
3) Period Stated in Days Less Than Seven Days. When the period stated in days is less than 7 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.
(4) “Last Day” Defined. Unless a different time is set by a statute, local rule, or court order, the last day ends
(A) for electronic filing or for service by any means, at midnight; and
(B) for filing by other means, when the clerk’s office is scheduled to close.
(5) “Next Day” Defined. The ―next day‖ is determined by continuing to count forward when the period is measured after an event and backward when measured before an event.
(6) “Legal Holiday” Defined. ―Legal holiday means
(A) the day set aside by section 110.117, Florida Statutes, for observing New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day, and
(B) any day observed as a holiday by the clerk’s office or as designated by the chief judge.
(b) Additional Time after Service by Mail or E-mail. When a party may or must act within a specified time after service and service is made by mail or email, 5 days are added after the period that would otherwise expire under subdivision (a).
CAN SOMEONE BE EXEMPT FROM GETTING SERVED?
942.04 Exemption from arrest and service of process.—
(1) If a person comes into this state in obedience to a summons directing him or her to attend and testify in this state, the person shall not while in this state pursuant to such summons be subject to arrest or the service of process, civil or criminal, in connection with matters which arose before his or her entrance into this state under the summons.
(2) If a person passes through this state while going to another state in obedience to a summons to attend and testify in that state, or while returning therefrom, the person shall not while so passing through this state be subject to arrest or the service of process, civil or criminal, in connection with matters which arose before his or her entrance into this state under the summons.
362. Bankruptcy & Automatic stay
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a petition filed under section 301, 302, or 303 of this title, or an application filed under section 5(a)(3) of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, operates as a stay, applicable to all entities, of-
(1) the commencement or continuation, including the issuance or employment of process, of a judicial, administrative, or other action or proceeding against the debtor that was or could have been commenced before the commencement of the case under this title, or to recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case under this title;
(2) the enforcement, against the debtor or against property of the estate, of a judgment obtained before the commencement of the case under this title;
(3) any act to obtain possession of property of the estate or of property from the estate or to exercise control over property of the estate;
(4) any act to create, perfect, or enforce any lien against property of the estate;
(5) any act to create, perfect, or enforce against property of the debtor any lien to the extent that such lien secures a claim that arose before the commencement of the case under this title;
(6) any act to collect, assess, or recover a claim against the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case under this title;
(7) the setoff of any debt owing to the debtor that arose before the commencement of the case under this title against any claim against the debtor; and
(8) the commencement or continuation of a proceeding before the United States Tax Court concerning the debtor.
(b) The filing of a petition under section 301, 302, or 303 of this title, or of an application under section 5(a)(3) of the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970, does not operate as a stay-
(1) under subsection (a) of this section, of the commencement or continuation of a criminal action or proceeding against the debtor;
(2) under subsection (a) of this section
(A) of the commencement or continuation of an action or proceeding for-
(i) the establishment of paternity; or
(ii) the establishment or modification of an order for alimony, maintenance, or support; or
(iii) concerning child custody or visitation
(iv) for the dissolution of a marriage, except to the extent that such proceeding seeks to determine the division of property that is property of the state; or
(v) regarding domestic violence
WHICH COUNTIES ARE MOTION AND ORDER?
There are 14 counties in the state of Florida that require that a Motion and Order to appoint the Process Server be filed and approved by the Judge before service of process can be properly affected.
The motion and order includes a list of the process servers which will be court approved in the county in which the service is taking place. The Motion and Order may be filed at the time the case is commenced.Once the Judge has granted the order, the process servers listed on the Order can properly effectuate service.
Motion and Orders to appoint a Process Server are not be needed for Subpoenas, Landlord/Tenant Notices and Federal Summons/Subpoenas.
Below is a list of counties which require the Motion and Order to appoint a Process Server:
- Alachua
- Baker
- Bradford
- Calhoun
- Clay
- Flagler
- Gilchrist
- Holmes
- Levy
- Nassau
- Putnam
- Union
- Volusia
- Washington
