Florida Statutes § 74.041 — Process; service and publication.
The clerk must issue and, in certain cases, publish and mail a summons to show cause, and file a certificate of mailing, when a declaration of taking is filed.
74.041 Process; service and publication.—(1) Upon the filing of the declaration of taking, the clerk of the court shall issue a summons to show cause to the defendants, containing the names of all defendants named in the petition, notifying them that the petitioner will petition for an order of taking on a specified date. A copy of the summons to show cause and the declaration of taking shall be served upon all resident defendants in the manner provided by law for service of original process in eminent domain actions, and not less than 20 days prior to the date specified. (2) If any defendant is alleged to be a nonresident of the state, or if the name or address of any defendant is alleged to be unknown, or if personal service cannot be had upon any defendant for any other reason, the clerk of the court shall cause the summons to show cause to be published one time, not less than 20 days prior to the date specified in the petition, in some newspaper published in the county; however, if the petitioner is a municipality and a newspaper is published therein, the summons shall be published in such a newspaper. The clerk shall mail a copy of the summons to show cause and the declaration of taking to each out-of-state defendant at the address set forth in the petition. The clerk shall file a certificate of mailing, which, together with proof of publication, shall constitute effective service as to these defendants. The failure of any party to receive the summons by mail shall not invalidate the proceedings of the court or any order made pursuant to this chapter. (3) The petition date provided in this section may be combined with the summons to show cause and the published summons provided in s. 73.031, but in no event shall the petition date provided in this section be noticed for a date earlier than 1 day following the date specified in the summons to show cause and the published summons provided in s. 73.031 for the defendants to serve written defenses to the petition in eminent domain proceedings and, if a defendant requests, a hearing on the petition for order of taking.