Dudley v. White

Citations

• 44 Fla. 264

Syllabus

<p>1) The fact that the judge of a Circuit Court is the plaintiff, or for other reason disqualified in a cause pending in that court, in no manner affects the power of the clerk of the court to perform the ministerial act of entering defaults proper to he entered because of failure to plead within the time required by law, conferred on him by statute; and a default so entered in such a case by the clerk, tested in the name of the judge as well as his own, is valid.</p> <p>2. If a motion to dismiss filed by the defendant in an action at law within the time allowed by the statute for filing a plea or dmeurrer he of such a character that the plaintiff ' will he justified in treating it as a nullity, he may disregard it, and cause the clerk to enter a default for failure to plead to demiur, hut if the motion be not of that character, no default can be entered until the motion is disposed of.</p> <p>3. An unverified motion to dismiss in behalf of both defendants in an action at law against two, one of whom has been duly served with process in the county where the suit is instituted, the grounds of such motion being that the court has no jurisdiction over the defendants therein, that the cause of action did not accrue in such county, that neither defendant resides in said county, that there is nothing local in the action that gives the court jurisdiction, filed on the return day of the summons, where there is nothing in the record tending to show that the last three grounds of the motion are true, may be treated as a nullity by the plaintiff, and if no plea or demurrer is filed on the next rule day after the filing of such motion, a default for want of plea or demurrer may be entered notwithstanding such motion is then on file.</p> <p>4. Where a defendant appears specially for the purpose of presenting the question of jurisdiction of the court over his person, he must restrict his motion to the ground of such jurisdiction, and must not include therein some other ground th