Recognition of Judgements Flashcards
A recognition of judgements Q may arise when what conditions are Satisfied:
A recognition of judgments question may arise when two conditions are satisfied:
• A judgment has been entered by a court in one jurisdiction (rendering js); and
• A party is seeking to have that judgment recognized by a court in a different jurisdiction (recognizing js).
Issue: “Will the recognizing court recog- nize the judgment issued by the rendering court?”
Party seeking recognition
Plaintiffs will most often seek recognition in order to access enforce- ment mechanisms in the rendering state. (like reaching D’s assets in the recognizing state).
Defendants will most often seek recognition to prevent a plaintiff from relitigating a claim or an issue. (claim or issue preclusion)
Recognition of Judgements Analysis
First Quesiton is: whether the rendering jurisdiction is a sister state or a foreign country.
If Sister State.
- Are the requirements of full faith and credit satisfied?
- Are there any valid defenses?
Recognition is required when the answer to
#1 is yes and the answer to #2 is no
If Foereign Country….
Is the foreign judgment entitled to comity?
Sister State Judgements
If the rendering court is a court in a sister state, then the source of the obligation to recognize the judgment is constitutional (the Full Faith and Credit Clause applies).
By statute, full faith and credit principles also apply to the recognition of judgments between federal courts and state courts.
Ask:
• Are the requirements for full faith and credit satisfied?; and
• Are there any valid defenses?
Full faith and credit Analysis
All three requirements must be met before FFCC kicks in…
Did the rendering court have jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter?
Is the judgment on the merits (that is, it involves the substance of the claim rather than procedural matters)?
Is the judgment final (that is, it does not require any further action by the rendering court)?
THEN, Are there any defenses to full faith and credit?
– Judgment is penal.
– Judgment was obtained through extrinsic fraud.
If 3 requirements are met and no defenses, the judgement is ENTITLED TO Full faith and credit.
Step #1: Are the Requirements for Full Faith and Credit Satisfied?
There are three requirements that must be satisfied before the Full Faith and Credit Clause kicks in.
a. Requirement #1: Jurisdiction
Rule: The rendering state must have had jurisdiction over the parties (that is, personal jurisdiction) and jurisdiction over the subject matter (SMJ).
Exception: When the issue of jurisdiction has been fully and fairly litigated, the jurisdictional determination is itself entitled to full faith and credit.
b. Requirement #2: On the Merits
Rule: The judgment entered by the rendering state must have been on the merits.
c. Requirement #3: Finality
Rule: The judgment entered by the rendering court must be a final judgment. The most common application here is a judgment on appeal in the rendering jurisdiction, which is not final.
this can be partial. like the past due payments are final but the future payments are not.
These three requirements are evaluated using the law of the rendering state.
BUT, the law of the enforcing state governs the method of enforcement.
Judgements NOT on the merits
Judgements NOT on the merits include dismissals based on:
Statute of Limitations dismissal - not on merits
Lack of jurisdiction (either PJ or SMJ) dismissal- not on the merits.
misjoinder (failing to join an indispensable party)
improper venue
Sometimes - failure to state a claim.
Judgements that ARE on the merits
ON the merits for purposes of recognition:
Default judgements
ON the merits for full faith and credit purposes
*not on the merits for issue preclusion because issues not actually determined.
Consent judgement entered after settlement
Step #2: Are There Any Defenses to Full Faith and Credit?
The following are valid defenses to full faith and credit.
– Judgment is penal.
– Judgment was obtained through extrinsic fraud.
Defense 1: Penal Judgements
a. Penal Judgments:
A penal judgment is NOT entitled to full faith and credit - so it will NOT be enforced by another state even if all the requirements are met.
A penal judgment is one that punishes an offense against the public.
In practice, this means that the plaintiff in the suit that led to the judgment was the state.
EXCEPTION: tax judgment will be enforced by another state
Judgement 2: Extrinsic Fraud
b. Extrinsic Fraud
A judgment obtained by extrinsic fraud is not entitled to full faith and credit, no recognition.
Extrinsic fraud is fraud that could not be corrected during the regular course of proceedings leading to the judgment.
Example: judge was bribed
Invalid defenses
Attractive but invalid defense #1: public policy.
Even if under the recognizing state laws, the contracts are unenforceable. Still must enforce judgement.
Attractive but invalid defense #2: mistake.
misapplication of law argument- should have dealt with it on appeal not an argument for judgments being invalid
Foreign Judgments (COMITY)
If the rendering court is a court in a foreign country, then the source of the obligation to recognize the judgment is comity or treaty.
Rule: Under principles of comity, a recognizing court will exercise discretion to decide whether the foreign judgment should be recognized.
Use many of the same principles as FFCR (foreign judgement final? Foreign judgement on merits?).
But two additional questions:
Did the Foreign Court Have Jurisdiction?
The foreign court must have had jurisdiction, consistent with our principles. American court may decline to recognize the foreign court’s decision on jurisdiction.
Were the procedures in the foreign court fair?
In line with how we handle things?
Not fair if P was not permitted to call witnesses or challenge the admissibility of the plaintiff’s evidence.
