Summary
In Dombroff, the Third District, in a summary opinion, citing Junction Bit, held that the trial court had personal jurisdiction over the defendant corporation pursuant to section 48.081(3), since the corporation was qualified to do business in Florida and the corporation's designated resident agent was served in Dade County. The court further held that this result was not altered because the cause of action did not arise from business activities conducted in Florida, but, rather, from the corporation's activities in Maryland prior to the designation of the resident agent in Florida.
Summary of this case from Rose's Stores, Inc. v. CherryOpinion
No. 83-2276.
June 12, 1984.
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, Harold R. Vann, J.
Baron Associates and Jane N. Saginaw, Dallas, Tex., Louis S. Robles, Miami, for appellant.
Kimbrell, Hamann, Jennings, Womack, Carlson Kniskern and Michael K. McLemore, Miami, for appellee.
Before HUBBART, DANIEL S. PEARSON and FERGUSON, JJ.
The final summary judgment under review is reversed and the cause is remanded for further proceedings upon a holding that: (1) the trial court acquired personal jurisdiction over the defendant corporation herein under Section 48.081(3), Florida Statutes (1981), because: (a) the said corporate defendant was qualified to do business in Florida, and (b) the corporate defendant's designated resident agent was served in Dade County, Florida; Cassidy v. Ice Queen International, Inc., 390 So.2d 465 (Fla.3d DCA 1980); Junction Bit Tool Co. v. Institutional Mortgage Co., 240 So.2d 879 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970); (2) this result is not changed by the fact that the cause of action sued upon: (a) does not arise from business activities conducted by the defendant corporation in Florida, Confederation of Canada Life Insurance Co. v. Vega y Arminan, 144 So.2d 805 (Fla. 1962); Killingsworth v. Montgomery Ward Co., 327 So.2d 50 (Fla.2d DCA 1976); Crown Colony Club, Ltd. v. Honecker, 307 So.2d 889, 891 (Fla.3d DCA), cert. denied, 320 So.2d 392 (Fla. 1975); Junction Bit Tool Co. v. Institutional Mortgage Co., supra at 881, and (b) arises from the defendant's business activities in the state of Maryland prior to designating its resident agent in Florida, although accruing for statute of limitations purposes subsequent thereto; see Confederation of Canada Life Insurance Co. v. Vega y Arminan, supra; Copeland v. Armstrong Cork Co., 447 So.2d 923, 924 (Fla.3d DCA 1984); Brown v. Armstrong World Industries, 441 So.2d 1098 (Fla.3d DCA 1983), and (3) for purposes of this case, we assume without deciding that the issue of personal jurisdiction over the defendant corporation herein was properly before the trial court for a ruling on the merits; but cf. Miller v. Marriner, 403 So.2d 472 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).
Reversed and remanded.