Emery Worldwide, Inc. v. Indemnity Insurance Co. of North America

Indemnity Insurance Company of North America (Indemnity) (defendant) filed an action against Emery Worldwide, Inc, (Emery) (plaintiff). Indemnity then moved to issue a writ-of-garnishment against Emery. Indemnity served the writ on Xavier Jasso, who the process server described as the general manager at Emery’s Miami-Dade County office. Indemnity’s affidavit-of-service stated that Jasso was served because there were no superior officers present in Emery’s office at the time of service. Because Emery did not respond to the writ, the trial court entered a clerk’s-default against Emery, which Indemnity then moved to have entered as a final default-judgment. Emery filed a motion-to-vacate the clerk’s-default and a motion-to-quash service-of-process, arguing that service-of-process was defective because (1) Indemnity failed to serve Emery’s Florida registered agent; (2) Jasso was a low-level manager, not the general manager, and was not authorized to accept service on Emery’s behalf; and (3) even if Jasso were a general manager, under Florida’s hierarchy-of-service for corporations, service should have been effected on Emery’s vice-president, who was in the office at the time of service, rather than on Jasso. The trial court denied Emery’s motion to quash service-of-process, holding that Emery had failed to present sufficient clear-and-convincing evidence that service-of-process was defective. Emery appealed.