JORGE ARBELAEZ v. MARTHA ORTIZ

Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed February 16, 2022.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D20-0841
Lower Tribunal No. 15-29427
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Jorge Arbelaez,
Appellant,
vs.
Martha Ortiz, et al.,
Appellees.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Jose M.
Rodriguez, Judge.
Jorge Arbelaez, in proper person.
Gianna Hillis (Pembroke Pines), for appellees.
Before SCALES, GORDO and BOKOR, JJ.
BOKOR, J.
Pro se appellant, Jorge Arbelaez, contests that he was properly
served in the action below, which resulted in a default final judgment
entered against him. Arbelaez argues that the trial court erred in denying
his motion to quash service. However, the record reflects that, after filing
the motion to quash service in the trial court, and before obtaining a ruling
on such motion, Arbelaez, through then-retained counsel, moved to
dismiss on bases other than jurisdiction and sought to assert a verified
counterclaim. The motions, filed before Arbelaez received any decision on
the motion to quash, contained no reservation of rights or assertion of the
pending motion to quash. See Babcock v. Whatmore, 707 So. 2d 702,
704-05 (Fla. 1998) (holding that a defendant waives a timely challenge to
personal jurisdiction by seeking affirmative relief); Eskenazi v. Eskenazi,
283 So. 3d 389, 389 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (applying same).
Affirmed.
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