CS/HB 641

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to service of process; amending s. 30.231,
3F.S.; deleting prohibition on additional fees for certain
4documents; amending s. 48.021, F.S.; providing that
5criminal witness subpoenas and criminal summonses may be
6served by a special process server appointed by the local
7sheriff or by a certified process server; amending s.
856.041, F.S.; providing that all unsatisfied executions in
9the possession of the sheriff docketed before October 1,
102001, may be returned to the issuing court; amending s.
1156.21, F.S.; requiring the submission of an affidavit
12before levying a judgment upon real property; requiring
13the sheriff to furnish to the judgment debtor or the
14debtor's attorney of record a copy of the notice of sale,
15notice of levy, and affidavit within a specified period
16before execution of a sale or levy; amending s. 56.27,
17F.S.; requiring that priority of liens on real property be
18based on the effective date of the judgment lien;
19requiring a levying creditor to deliver to the sheriff at
20the time of the levy request an affidavit setting forth
21certain information and attestations; amending ss. 741.30
22and 784.046, F.S., relating to service of process in cases
23of domestic violence or sexual abuse; authorizing clerks
24of court to transmit facsimile copies of previously
25certified injunctions to sheriffs upon request; requiring
26sheriffs to verify receipt of facsimile copies of
27injunctions with clerks of court before attempting
28service; authorizing law enforcement officers to serve
29facsimile copies of injunctions in the same manner as
30certified copies; providing an effective date.
31
32Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
33
34Section 1.  Subsection (4) of section 30.231, Florida
35Statutes, is amended to read:
36     30.231  Sheriffs' fees for service of summons, subpoenas,
37and executions.--
38     (4)  All fees collected under paragraphs (1)(a), (b), (c),
39and (d) shall be nonrefundable and shall be earned when each
40original request or service of process is made, and no
41additional fees shall be required for alias and pluries
42documents when service was not effected on the original document
43in that county by that sheriff.
44     Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 48.021, Florida
45Statutes, is amended to read:
46     48.021  Process; by whom served.--
47     (1)  All process shall be served by the sheriff of the
48county where the person to be served is found, except that
49initial nonenforceable civil process, criminal witness
50subpoenas, and criminal summonses may be served by a special
51process server appointed by the sheriff as provided for in this
52section or by a certified process server as provided for in ss.
5348.25-48.31. Civil witness subpoenas may be served by any person
54authorized by rules of civil procedure.
55     Section 3.  Subsection (2) of section 56.041, Florida
56Statutes, is amended to read:
57     56.041  Executions; collection and return.--
58     (2)  All unsatisfied executions in the hands of the sheriff
59docketed before October 1, 2001, or 20 years after the date of
60issuance of final judgment upon which the execution was issued
61may be returned, to the court issuing the execution, 20 years
62after the date of issuance of final judgment upon which the
63execution was issued. Upon such return, the clerk of the court
64of issuance shall provide a receipt, to the sheriff submitting
65the return, acknowledging the return of the unsatisfied
66execution.
67     Section 4.  Section 56.21, Florida Statutes, is amended to
68read:
69     56.21  Execution sales; notice.--Notice of all sales under
70execution shall be given by advertisement once each week for 4
71successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county in which
72the sale is to take place. The time of such notice may be
73shortened in the discretion of the court from which the
74execution issued, upon affidavit that the property to be sold is
75subject to decay and will not sell for its full value if held
76until date of sale. On or before the date of the first
77publication or posting of the notice of sale, a copy of the
78notice of sale shall be furnished by the sheriff by certified
79mail to the attorney of record of the judgment debtor, or to the
80judgment debtor at the judgment debtor's last known address if
81the judgment debtor does not have an attorney of record. Such
82copy of the notice of sale shall be mailed even though a default
83judgment was entered. When levying upon real or personal
84property, a notice of such levy and execution sale and a copy of
85the affidavit required by s. 56.27(4) shall be sent by the
86sheriff to the attorneys of record of all judgment creditors, or
87to all judgment creditors who do not have an attorney of record,
88who have acquired a judgment lien as provided in s. 55.10(1) and
89(2), s. 55.202, or s. 55.204(3), and whose liens have not lapsed
90at the time of levy, at the address listed in the judgment lien
91certificate, or, if amended, in any amendment to the judgment
92lien certificate, and to all secured creditors who have filed
93financing statements as provided in part V of chapter 679 in the
94name of the judgment debtor reflecting a security interest in
95property of the kind to be sold at the execution sale at the
96address listed in the financing statement, or, if amended, in
97any amendment to the financing statement. Such notice shall be
98made in the same manner as notice is made to any judgment debtor
99under this section. When levying upon real property, notice of
100such levy and execution sale and affidavit required by s.
10156.27(4) shall be made to the property owner of record in the
102same manner as notice is made to any judgment debtor pursuant to
103this section. When selling real or personal property, the sale
104date shall not be earlier than 30 days after the date of the
105first advertisement.
106     Section 5.  Subsections (1), (2), and (4) of section 56.27,
107Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
108     56.27  Executions; payment of money collected.--
109     (1)  All money received under executions shall be paid, in
110the order prescribed, to the following: the sheriff, for costs;
111the levying creditor in the amount of $500 as liquidated
112expenses; and if the levy is upon real property, the first
113priority lienholder under s. 55.10(1) and (2), 55.10; and if the
114levy is upon personal property, the first priority lienholder
115under s. 55.202, s. 55.204(3), or s. 55.208(2), as set forth in
116an affidavit required by subsection (4), or his or her attorney,
117in satisfaction of the judgment lien, if provided that the
118judgment lien has not lapsed at the time of the levy. The
119receipt of the attorney shall be a release of the officer paying
120the money to him or her. If When the name of more than one
121attorney appears in the court file, the money shall be paid to
122the attorney who originally commenced the action or who made the
123original defense unless the file shows that another attorney has
124been substituted.
125     (2)  If When property sold under execution brings more than
126the amount needed to satisfy the provisions of subsection (1),
127the surplus shall be paid in the order of priority to any
128judgment lienholders whose judgment liens have not lapsed.
129Priority of liens on personal property shall be based on the
130effective date of the judgment lien acquired under s. 55.202, s.
13155.204(3), or s. 55.208(2), as set forth in an affidavit
132required under subsection (4). Priority of liens on real
133property shall be based on the effective date of the judgment
134lien acquired under s. 55.10(1) and (2), as set forth in an
135affidavit required under subsection (4). If there is a surplus
136after all valid judgment liens and execution liens have been
137satisfied, the surplus must be paid to the defendant.
138     (4)  Before the date of the first publication or posting of
139the notice of sale provided for under s. 56.21, at the time of
140the levy request to the sheriff, the levying creditor shall
141deliver to the sheriff an affidavit setting forth the following
142as to the judgment debtor:
143     (a)  For a personal property levy, an attestation by that
144the levying creditor or the creditor's attorney of record that
145he or she has reviewed the database or judgment lien records
146established in accordance with ss. 55.201-55.209 and that the
147information contained in the affidavit based on that review is
148true and correct. For a real property levy in accordance with s.
14955.10(1) and (2), an attestation by the levying creditor or his
150or her attorney of record that he or she has reviewed the
151records of the clerk of court of the county where the property
152is situated, or that he or she has performed a title search, and
153that the information contained in the affidavit based on that
154review or title search is true and correct.;
155     (b)  The information required under s. 55.203(1) and (2)
156for each judgment lien certificate indexed under the name of the
157judgment debtor as to each judgment creditor; the file number
158assigned to the record of the original and, if any, the second
159judgment lien; and the date of filing for each judgment lien
160certificate under s. 55.202 or s. 55.204(3). For real property,
161the information contained in the certified copy of recordation
162of lien pursuant to s. 55.10(1) and (2) for each lien recorded
163on real property.; and
164     (c)  A statement that the levying creditor either does not
165have any other levy in process or, if another levy is in
166process, the levying creditor believes in good faith that the
167total value of the property under execution does not exceed the
168amount of outstanding judgments.
169     Section 6.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section
170741.30, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
171     741.30  Domestic violence; injunction; powers and duties of
172court and clerk; petition; notice and hearing; temporary
173injunction; issuance of injunction; statewide verification
174system; enforcement.--
175     (8)(a)1.  The clerk of the court shall furnish a copy of
176the petition, financial affidavit, Uniform Child Custody
177Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act affidavit, if any, notice of
178hearing, and temporary injunction, if any, to the sheriff or a
179law enforcement agency of the county where the respondent
180resides or can be found, who shall serve it upon the respondent
181as soon thereafter as possible on any day of the week and at any
182time of the day or night. When requested by the sheriff, the
183clerk of court may transmit a facsimile copy of an injunction
184that has been certified by the clerk of court, and this
185facsimile copy may be served in the same manner as a certified
186copy. Upon receiving a facsimile copy, the sheriff must verify
187receipt with the sender before attempting to serve it upon the
188respondent. In addition, if the sheriff is in possession of an
189injunction for protection that has been certified by the clerk
190of court, the sheriff may transmit a facsimile copy of that
191injunction to a law enforcement officer who shall serve it in
192the same manner as a certified copy. The clerk of the court
193shall be responsible for furnishing to the sheriff such
194information on the respondent's physical description and
195location as is required by the department to comply with the
196verification procedures set forth in this section.
197Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the
198chief judge of each circuit, in consultation with the
199appropriate sheriff, may authorize a law enforcement agency
200within the jurisdiction to effect service. A law enforcement
201agency serving injunctions pursuant to this section shall use
202service and verification procedures consistent with those of the
203sheriff.
204     2.  When an injunction is issued, if the petitioner
205requests the assistance of a law enforcement agency, the court
206may order that an officer from the appropriate law enforcement
207agency accompany the petitioner and assist in placing the
208petitioner in possession of the dwelling or residence, or
209otherwise assist in the execution or service of the injunction.
210A law enforcement officer shall accept a copy of an injunction
211for protection against domestic violence, certified by the clerk
212of the court, from the petitioner and immediately serve it upon
213a respondent who has been located but not yet served.
214     3.  All orders issued, changed, continued, extended, or
215vacated subsequent to the original service of documents
216enumerated under subparagraph 1., shall be certified by the
217clerk of the court and delivered to the parties at the time of
218the entry of the order. The parties may acknowledge receipt of
219such order in writing on the face of the original order. In the
220event a party fails or refuses to acknowledge the receipt of a
221certified copy of an order, the clerk shall note on the original
222order that service was effected. If delivery at the hearing is
223not possible, the clerk shall mail certified copies of the order
224to the parties at the last known address of each party. Service
225by mail is complete upon mailing. When an order is served
226pursuant to this subsection, the clerk shall prepare a written
227certification to be placed in the court file specifying the
228time, date, and method of service and shall notify the sheriff.
229
230If the respondent has been served previously with the temporary
231injunction and has failed to appear at the initial hearing on
232the temporary injunction, any subsequent petition for injunction
233seeking an extension of time may be served on the respondent by
234the clerk of the court by certified mail in lieu of personal
235service by a law enforcement officer.
236     Section 7.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (8) of section
237784.046, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
238     784.046  Action by victim of repeat violence, sexual
239violence, or dating violence for protective injunction; powers
240and duties of court and clerk of court; filing and form of
241petition; notice and hearing; temporary injunction; issuance;
242statewide verification system; enforcement.--
243     (8)(a)1.  The clerk of the court shall furnish a copy of
244the petition, notice of hearing, and temporary injunction, if
245any, to the sheriff or a law enforcement agency of the county
246where the respondent resides or can be found, who shall serve it
247upon the respondent as soon thereafter as possible on any day of
248the week and at any time of the day or night. When requested by
249the sheriff, the clerk of court may transmit a facsimile copy of
250an injunction that has been certified by the clerk of court, and
251this facsimile copy may be served in the same manner as a
252certified copy. Upon receiving a facsimile copy, the sheriff
253must verify receipt with the sender before attempting to serve
254it upon the respondent. In addition, if the sheriff is in
255possession of an injunction for protection that has been
256certified by the clerk of court, the sheriff may transmit a
257facsimile copy of that injunction to a law enforcement officer
258who shall serve it in the same manner as a certified copy. The
259clerk of the court shall be responsible for furnishing to the
260sheriff such information on the respondent's physical
261description and location as is required by the department to
262comply with the verification procedures set forth in this
263section. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
264contrary, the chief judge of each circuit, in consultation with
265the appropriate sheriff, may authorize a law enforcement agency
266within the chief judge's jurisdiction to effect this type of
267service and to receive a portion of the service fee. No person
268shall be authorized or permitted to serve or execute an
269injunction issued under this section unless the person is a law
270enforcement officer as defined in chapter 943.
271     2.  When an injunction is issued, if the petitioner
272requests the assistance of a law enforcement agency, the court
273may order that an officer from the appropriate law enforcement
274agency accompany the petitioner and assist in the execution or
275service of the injunction. A law enforcement officer shall
276accept a copy of an injunction for protection against repeat
277violence, sexual violence, or dating violence, certified by the
278clerk of the court, from the petitioner and immediately serve it
279upon a respondent who has been located but not yet served.
280     Section 8.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.