Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida

I apologize in advance for this stupid question. I'm the Defendant in a civil case in Florida. If I hand deliver papers to the Plaintiff's attorney as opposed to mailing them, should I get a receipt, or is it okay to just give them to the receptionist and leave? Is there a standard receipt form or something I should bring for someone to sign? Sorry for the dumb question, I just have no idea how this is commonly done and I don't want to screw this up. Thanks.


Asked on 11/05/13, 8:15 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Barry Stein De Cardenas, Freixas, Stein & Zachary

Make an extra copy and have someone at the office sign for them. Not such a dumb question.

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Answered on 11/05/13, 8:36 am
Alan Smith Tallahassee Legal Counsel

On all papers except those which are required to be served personally by a process server, you should put a "certificate of service" at the bottom which indicates how it was served. This is required by the Rules of Civil Procedure. If you suspect that the other side will try to pretend that they were not served, you may wish to go the extra mile and serve by certified mail or some other way of getting a signature.

The format for certificate of service goes something like this-

It is hereby certified that a copy of the foregoing was served on (DATE) by way of (hand delivery, email, U.S. mail, certified mail, UPS, etc.) to (NAME), who is (PLAINTIFF/DEFENDANT/COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF/COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANT) at (ADDRESS).

(Line break, followed by your signature)

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Answered on 11/06/13, 9:07 am


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