UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA ORLANDO DIVISION

HOWARD COHAN,

Plaintiff,

v. Case No: 6:23-cv-50-RBD-EJK

CAPITAL ONE FLORIDA HOTEL GROUP, LLC,

Defendant.

ORDER This cause comes before the Court on Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Clerk’s Default (the “Motion”), filed February 23, 2023. (Doc. 14.) Therein, Plaintiff seeks default against Defendant Capital One Florida Hotel Group, LLC. (Id.) Upon consideration, the Motion is due to be denied without prejudice. “When a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). Before the clerk may enter default, he or she must determine that effective service has been made on the defaulting defendant because, without effective service, there is no jurisdiction and no obligation to answer or “otherwise defend.” See Kelly v. Fla.,

(11th Cir. 2007) (unpublished). Defendant has not responded to the Complaint or otherwise appeared, and the time to do so has so expired. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a) (providing that a defendant must file a responsive pleading to a complaint within 21 days after being served a copy of the summons and the complaint). The Court must now determine whether Plaintiff perfected service on Defendant.

For corporate defendants, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that service can be made by: delivering a copy of the summons and of the complaint to an officer, a managing or general agent, or any other agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process and—if the agent is one authorized by statute and the statute so requires—by also mailing a copy of each to the defendant[.] Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(h)(1)(B). A corporate defendant may also be served by “following state law for serving a summons in an action brought in courts of general jurisdiction in the state where the district court is located or where service is made[.]” Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(e)(1); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(h)(1)(A). Thus, Florida’s procedures on service of process will apply here. The Florida Statutes permit process to be served on a limited liability company by serving either the registered agent or the registered agent’s employee. See

(1). On January 12, 2023, Plaintiff served Kamal Rahim, the Assistant General Manager for Capital One Florida Hotel Group, LLC, at 321 S Lake Cortez Drive, Apopka, Florida 32703. (Doc. 7.) According to Florida’s Division of Corporation,

“FAWAZ, WAEL G” is Defendant’s registered agent, with an address located at 321 S Lake Cortez Drive, Apopka, Florida 32703.1 It is unclear from the information

1 Detail by Entity Name of Capital One Florida Hotel Group, LLC, Division of Corporations, an official State of Florida Website, currently before the Court whether service was proper on Defendant due to service on Defendant’s Assistant Manager. Thus, the Court will deny the motion for entry of default against Defendant without prejudice, and Plaintiff may renew its motion against Defendant with supporting documentation to establish that service was effected upon the registered agent or the registered agent’s employee. Accordingly, Plaintiff's Motion for Entry of Clerk’s Default (Doc. 14) is DENIED without prejudice. Plaintiff may file a renewed motion in accordance with this order, or, alternatively, may re-serve Defendant. DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida on March 8, 2023.

J. KIDD UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

https://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/SearchResultDetail?inquiryty pe=EntityName&directionType=Initial&searchNameOrder=CAPITALONEFLORI DAHOTELGROUP%20L170000817880&aggregateId=flal-l1 7000081788-01ec55d3- fc27-4ccd-89a5- Ice8adce52b6&searchTerm=CAPITAL%20ONE%20FLORIDA%20HOTEL%20G ROUP%2C%20LLC&listNameOrder=CAPITALONEFLORIDAHOTELGROUP %20L 170000817880 (last visited March 3, 2023).