SARIT ZOHAR v. ASSET ACCEPTANCE, LLC

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida Opinion filed November 2, 2022. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing. ________________ No. 3D22-517 Lower Tribunal No. 07-25608 CC ________________ Sarit Zohar, Appellant, vs. Asset Acceptance, LLC, Appellee. An Appeal from a non-final order from the County Court for Miami- Dade County, Linda Melendez, Judge. Alan R. Soven, P.A., and Alan R. Soven, for appellant. Payal Chatani, Colleen E. Lehmann, and Johan A. Green (Tampa), for appellee. Before EMAS, GORDO and BOKOR, JJ. EMAS, J. Sarit Zohar appeals the trial court’s order which, following an evidentiary hearing, denied Zohar’s motion to vacate a default final judgment entered against her in 2008. Finding no gross abuse of discretion by the trial court, we affirm. See Lewis v. Fifth Third Mortg. Co., 38 So. 3d 157, 160 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010) (a trial court’s denial of a motion to vacate a default final judgment is reviewed for a gross abuse of discretion); Block v. Tosun, 77 So. 3d 871 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (noting that where the court file, including return of service, had been destroyed, the trial court should conduct an evidentiary hearing, weigh the evidence, and resolve the question of fact as to whether the defendant was properly served). 2