SARIT ZOHAR v. ASSET ACCEPTANCE, LLC

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: November 2, 2022
• Docket: 22-0517
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed November 2, 2022. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D22-517 Lower Tribunal No. 07-25608 CC ________________

Sarit Zohar, Appellant,

vs.

Asset Acceptance, LLC, Appellee.

An Appeal from a non-final order from the County Court for Miami- Dade County, Linda Melendez, Judge.

Alan R. Soven, P.A., and Alan R. Soven, for appellant.

Payal Chatani, Colleen E. Lehmann, and Johan A. Green (Tampa), for appellee.

Before EMAS, GORDO and BOKOR, JJ.

EMAS, J. Sarit Zohar appeals the trial court’s order which, following an

evidentiary hearing, denied Zohar’s motion to vacate a default final judgment

entered against her in 2008. Finding no gross abuse of discretion by the trial

court, we affirm. See Lewis v. Fifth Third Mortg. Co., 38 So. 3d 157, 160

(Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (a trial court’s denial of a motion to vacate a default final

judgment is reviewed for a gross abuse of discretion); Block v. Tosun, 77 So.

3d 871 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (noting that where the court file, including return

of service, had been destroyed, the trial court should conduct an evidentiary

hearing, weigh the evidence, and resolve the question of fact as to whether

the defendant was properly served).