Borst v. Borst

161 So. 2d 693, 1964 Fla. App. LEXIS 4560
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided March 13, 1964·No. No. 4551·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

SHANNON, Judge.

Appellant, a resident of Pinellas County, Florida, filed his complaint in the lower court seeking the modification of a foreign alimony decree, basing his action on Sec. 65.15, Fla.Stat., F.S.A. Substituted service of process upon the appellee was effected under the provisions of Chapter 48 of the Florida Statutes, F.S.A. by publication and notice by mail. The appellee, a resident of the State of New York, responded with a motion to dismiss, which was, in effect, a special appearance contesting the court’s jurisdiction over her person and over the subject matter. The chancellor granted the motion and dismissed the cause with [694] prejudice. This interlocutory appeal ensued.

The parties were married in New York in 1926. The appellant obtained a Mexican divorce in 1957, and the Supreme Court of the State of New York subsequently ordered appellant to pay the appellee the sum of $80.00 per week for support and maintenance. Appellant has since established a residence in Florida, due to financial reverses in New York, and is now unable to comply with the New York support and maintenance order; hence this suit for modification.

On this appeal we have the question of whether or not a local court can obtain jurisdiction in a modification of alimony proceeding where the marriage, the divorce and the alimony decree all took place outside of Florida, and where the wife has never submitted herself to the jurisdiction of our courts.

Both of the parties hereto state that the Florida courts have not ruled upon this question, and after our reseai'ch into the subject we must agree. The appellant maintains that “ * * * the situs of such obligation, although created in New York State, rests with the Appellant wherever he resides and this suit, being for the purpose of altering such status, is a proceeding, quasi in rem.” With this contention we cannot agree, for reasons which will follow. The appellant has cited several cases dealing with alimony, custody of children, and the like, but none of these cases are concerned with the exact factual situation as contained herein. The appellee cites one case that is fairly close, but it does not proceed upon the theory that the instant case demands. This is the case of Green-berg v. Greenberg, Fla.App.1958, 101 So.2d 608, wherein the court said:

“We are presented with two points. First, is service by publication available in this action? Second, has the defendant made a general appearance, thus waiving the error urged? Section 48.01, supra, does not by its express terms authorize service by publication in actions for alimony unconnected with divorce. But appellee urges that the action is implicit in the provision: authorizing such service in actions for divorce. The action for a limited divorce is not a part of the law of Florida. Therefore that portion of Section-48.01 providing for service of process-by publication in cases ‘(4) For divorce or annulment of marriage;’ does not include actions for alimony unconnected with divorce. A casus omissus can in no case be supplied by a court because that would be to make laws. We therefore hold that service by publication is not authorized in actions-brought under Section 65.09, Fla.Stat., F.S.A.”

See also Nelson and Schulman, Notice Requirements in Modification of Alimony Proceedings, 9 Miami L.Q. 41 (1954).

Though there are no cases in Florida-, concerning the exact facts, the general subject has been treated in various authoritative texts. In 17 Am.Jur., Divorce and Separation, Sec. 592, it is stated:

“While, under statute, a personal judgment for alimony and costs may properly be entered against a resident defendant who has been served by publication, it is well settled, in accord with the general rules applicable in other cases, that a decree for alimony and costs against a nonresident defendant cannot be based upon constructive service * *

And Sec. 987 of the same topic reads as, follows:

“The divorce court must have jurisdiction of the wife in personam in order to adjudicate or cut off her right to alimony. While a court may gain jurisdiction to grant a divorce by constructive service upon a nonresident wife, such service does not give it jurisdiction to adjudicate alimony-rights, and so it is held that an ex parte-[695] divorce, obtained by the 'husband, does not necessarily affect the right of the wife to alimony under the laws of another state, and any express or implied adjudication against her claim is void and will not be given effect by comity or under the full faith and credit clause.”

Finally, Sec. 988 states:

“The rule is that where a wife obtains a divorce a mensa or a judicial -separation and an award of alimony in •one state, another state cannot adjudicate or terminate the right unless it -gains jurisdiction in personam over the -wife. A judgment for alimony is a •property right, intangible in nature, and jurisdiction over an intangible can only arise from jurisdiction over the person.”

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Borst v. Borst, 161 So. 2d 693, 1964 Fla. App. LEXIS 4560 (Fla. Ct. App. 1964).

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