Hong can run, delete, block, or hide behind his keyboard, but he can’t outrun jurisdiction. Florida’s long-arm statute reaches further than most people realize, and when you throw stones at someone standing in this state, those stones land here. That’s the part most people get W’Hong.
When you make a defamatory statement online — written, published, and read by an audience — that’s libel. When that statement is about someone who lives in Florida, does business in Florida, and suffers harm in Florida, then guess what? You just committed a tort in Florida. The click might’ve happened in Pennsylvania, but the damage happened here.
The law isn’t confused by geography; it’s grounded in impact. Florida Statute §48.193(1)(a)(2) says plainly: if you commit a tortious act that causes harm inside this state, the courts have jurisdiction. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never stepped foot here. If your words did, through a tweet, a post, or a viral thread, you’re in it.
And for anyone thinking “just don’t get served,” here’s the part they never tell you; evasion doesn’t erase accountability. Florida law allows for constructive service and service by publication when a defendant deliberately avoids being served. Translation? If the process server knocks and you pretend you’re not home like you did for those restraining orders or injunctions, the law moves forward anyway. The court can deem you served after repeated good-faith attempts. You don’t get to play hide-and-seek with due process forever.
Welcome to the Free State of Florida.
Evading service doesn’t freeze the clock; it just makes you look guilty and gives the judge an early taste of your character. Courts don’t respect cowardice.
So, when someone tries to argue “Florida doesn’t have jurisdiction” or “he wasn’t properly served,” what they’re really doing is hoping the technicalities will outrun the truth. It won’t.
