Rule 1.1011.Retrial after published notice

Service by publication reaches a defendant who could not be found for personal service, which means that defendant may never have known about the lawsuit until after judgment was entered. Rule 1.1011(1) gives that defendant a real second chance: if judgment was entered against a defendant who did not appear and was served only by publication, or by publication and mailing under rule 1.311, the defendant can apply for a retrial within six months after the judgment was entered. The rule carves out one category — actions for dissolution of marriage and annulment of marriage — where this retrial option does not apply.

Getting the retrial requires giving security for costs, but once that is posted, the defendant is entitled to a defense and trial exactly as though no judgment had ever been entered. This is not a limited reopening; it restarts the case for that defendant.

Rule 1.1011(2) covers what happens after the retrial. The court can confirm the original judgment if the retrial doesn't change the outcome, or modify or set it aside if it does. If the judgment is undone or changed, the court can order the party who benefited to restore any money or property still in that party's possession under the old judgment, or repay its value if it's no longer held.