Contesting Personal Jurisdiction In Florida

In Venetian Salami Co. v. Parthenais, 554 So. 2d 499, 502 (Fla. 1989), the Court explained the procedure for contesting personal jurisdiction as follows: Initially, the plaintiff may seek to obtain jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant by pleading the basis for service in the language of the statute without pleading the supporting facts. By itself, the filing of a motion to dismiss on grounds of lack of jurisdiction over the person does nothing more than raise the legal sufficiency of the pleadings. A defendant wishing to contest the allegations of the complaint concerning jurisdiction or to raise a contention of minimum contacts must file affidavits in support of his position. The burden is then placed upon the plaintiff to prove by affidavit the basis upon which jurisdiction may be obtained. 554 So. 2d at 502.