Drllevich Const., Inc. v. Stock, No. 87598

• Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma
• Writing for the Court: SIMMS; KAUGER; ALMA WILSON
• Citation: 1998 OK 39,958 P.2d 1277
• Decision Date: 12 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 87598
• Parties: DRLLEVICH CONSTRUCTION, INC., Appellant, v. Mary A. STOCK, Appellee.

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958 P.2d 1277 1998 OK 39 DRLLEVICH CONSTRUCTION, INC., Appellant,
v.
Mary A. STOCK, Appellee. No. 87598. Supreme Court of Oklahoma. May 12, 1998.
As Corrected May 27, 1998.

Amy L. Underwood, Gary G. Grisso, Tulsa, for Appellant.

Richard A. Shallcross, Brewster, Shallcross & DeAngelis, Tulsa, for Appellee.

SIMMS, Justice:

¶1 This appeal results from Drllevich Construction Company's attempt to enforce a Washington state judgment in Oklahoma, where the judgment debtor, Mary Stock, now lives, and presents this question:

¶2 "Is a valid and enforceable judgment rendered in a foreign state and registered in Oklahoma, pursuant to the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, 12 O.S.1991 § 719 et seq., subject to Oklahoma's dormancy statute, 12 O.S.1991 § 735, to the extent that it would bar enforcement of the registered judgment in Oklahoma?" We hold enforcement is not barred by the dormancy statute.

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¶3 The Court of Civil Appeals held enforcement of the Washington state judgment was barred by application of Oklahoma's dormancy statute. We have previously granted certiorari and now vacate the opinion of the Court of Civil Appeals and reverse and remand the instant cause to the trial court for further proceedings.

¶4 To the extent First of Denver Mortgage Investors v. Riggs, 1984 OK 36, 692 P.2d 1358, is in conflict with this opinion, it is overruled.

¶5 On July 6, 1995, Mary Stock was served a "Notice of Filing of Foreign Judgment," via certified mail. This was Drllevich's effort to file its foreign judgment and seek enforcement in Oklahoma, pursuant to the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. 12 O.S.1991 § 719, et seq. The original civil judgment obtained in King County (State of Washington), was rendered on November 14, 1985; This judgment was not appealed. The judgment was the result of an embezzlement case in which Stock took over $82,000.00 from the construction company while employed as a bookkeeper from 1978 until 1982. There was a related criminal prosecution which resulted in Stock receiving a ten year probationary sentence, a $49,291.98 restitution requirement and six months in prison. ¹

¶6 Drllevich initiated foreclosure proceedings on Stock's Washington home in 1987, which yielded approximately $27,000.00 for the payment of the embezzlement debt. In addition, Stock made monthly restitution payments throughout her probation, which ended in 1994. Although the record is not clear regarding the precise amount, there remains an outstanding balance on the $82,000.00 debt which has not been paid.

¶7 First of Denver Mortgage Investors v. Riggs is the seminal case with regard to the application of Oklahoma's dormancy statute as it concerns a foreign judgment. In Riggs, a Colorado judgment was rendered on January 20, 1977. That judgment was filed in Oklahoma on October 17, 1977 pursuant to the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. In 1982, an asset hearing was scheduled and the judgment holder submitted post-judgment interrogatories. On December 8, 1982, debtor filed a Motion to Quash the interrogatories and to hold the judgment dormant in accord with 12 O.S.1981, § 735, Oklahoma's dormancy statute. Debtor's motion was granted and judgment creditor appealed. Section 735 provides:

If execution is not issued and filed or a garnishment summons issued as provided in Section 759 of this title within five (5) years after the date of any judgment that now is or may hereafter be rendered in any court of record in this state, or if five (5) years has intervened between the date that the last execution was filed or a garnishment summons was issued as also provided in Section 759 of this title, such judgment shall become unenforceable and of no effect, and shall cease to operate as a lien on the real estate of the judgment debtor. Provided, that this section shall not apply to judgments against municipalities. ²

¶8 Although still attempting to enforce the October 17, 1977 filing, the judgment holder refiled the Colorado judgment in Oklahoma on December 31, 1982. The debtor responded, filing a suggestion of dormancy on January 11, 1983. The district court granted debtor's motion to quash a second set of interrogatories and held that the refiling did not revive the Colorado judgment. The appeals were consolidated for review.

¶9 This Court found the Colorado judgment in question must be treated as if it

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were rendered in Oklahoma on the date it was rendered in Colorado, making the judgment dormant in Oklahoma five years after it was rendered in the sister state, "if execution was never issued on the judgment in Oklahoma." Id. at 1362. As a result, the judgment became dormant in January 1982, five years after it was rendered in Colorado. By the time the judgment creditor filed for the asset hearing and presented interrogatories, the judgment was already dormant and the refiling in December 1982 did not revive the already dormant judgment. Id. at 1362-63.

¶10 Riggs' approach places its only real emphasis on the judgment's date of rendition in the originating state. Any ability to enforce the judgment in the state of origin plays no role in the ability to register the judgment for enforcement in Oklahoma under Riggs. This lack of focus on the original judgment's enforceability is not a universally shared approach. In fact, Oklahoma's position is a minority one.

¶11 The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act "shall be interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it." 12 O.S.1991 § 726. Oklahoma's minority position is such that it does not achieve the purpose expressly outlined in § 726, "to make uniform the law of those states which enact it." In addition, the current interpretation of the law under Riggs...