Meyer v. Race City Classics, LLC

• Decision Date: 29 July 2014
• Docket Number: No. COA13–1371.,COA13–1371.
• Citation: 761 S.E.2d 196
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Ron D. MEYER, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. RACE CITY CLASSICS, LLC, Defendant–Appellee.

761 S.E.2d 196

Ron D. MEYER, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.RACE CITY CLASSICS, LLC, Defendant–Appellee.

No. COA13–1371.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

July 29, 2014.

Appeal by Plaintiff from order entered 21 October 2013 by Judge H. Thomas Church in District Court, Iredell County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 7 April 2014.

Pope McMillan Kutteh & Schieck, P.A., Statesville, by William H. McMillan and Matthew J. Pentz, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Homesley, Gaines & Dudley, LLP, Statesville, by Edmund L. Gaines and Leah Gaines Messick, for Defendant–Appellee.

McGEE, Judge.

Ron D. Meyer (“Plaintiff”) saw a 1970 Ford Mustang (“the car”) in an advertisement placed by Race City Classics, LLC, (“Defendant”) on the website classiccars.com in July of 2012. Defendant is a business, located in Iredell County, that specializes in the consignment and sale of classic cars. Defendant also placed advertisements on carsforsale.com, on eBay, and on its own website. Plaintiff, a resident of Nebraska, contacted Defendant and, through a series of telephone calls and emails, Plaintiff and Defendant reached an agreement whereby Plaintiff would pay Defendant $21,000.00 to purchase the car. Thomas M. Alphin (“Alphin”), one of Defendant's owners, handled the negotiations for Defendant. Plaintiff wired the full amount of $21,000.00 to Defendant. Plaintiff did not come to North Carolina at any time during the negotiation and purchase transaction. Plaintiff wanted the car shipped to his home in Nebraska, telling Defendant that Plaintiff planned to present the car at vehicle car shows in Nebraska.

Alphin sent Plaintiff an email in which Alphin stated: “I lined up a shipper, and he will give me the price tomorrow.” In a subsequent email to Plaintiff, Alphin stated:

I have the shipping lined up and it is something I can't control. They put it out and have a driver accept the bid and they come and get it. I had it on multiple sites looking for the best quote, and Alpine was the best so I went ahead and booked it for you. I paid $380, so your cost is $345.

The car was delivered to Plaintiff in Nebraska, but Plaintiff was dissatisfied with the condition of the car. Plaintiff requested that Defendant refund the purchase price, but Defendant refused.

Plaintiff filed an action for damages against Defendant in Nebraska state court. Plaintiff contended that, upon receipt of the car, the “paint on the car was cracked at various spots, the front hood was out of alignment, the trunk could not be opened and the car could not be started.” Defendant, after being served with notice of the action, failed to appear to contest Plaintiff's claims and the Nebraska court entered a default judgment against Defendant in the amount of $8,942.30 on 26 February 2013. That was the amount the Nebraska court found necessary to repair the problems alleged by Plaintiff.

Pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1C–1703, Plaintiff filed a “Docketing of Foreign Judgment” and the default judgment from the Nebraska state court in Iredell County Superior Court on 30 May 2013. Plaintiff also filed, pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1C–1704, a “Notice of Filing Foreign Judgment” on the same day. Pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1C–1705(a), Defendant filed a “Motion for Relief Against Foreign Judgment” on 18 June 2013, contending the Nebraska court lacked personal jurisdiction over Defendant. Pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1C–1705(b), Plaintiff then filed a “Motion for Enforcement of Foreign Judgment” on 8 July 2013. At a 21 October 2013 hearing, the trial court found Defendant did not have sufficient minimum contacts with the State of Nebraska to confer personal jurisdiction over Defendant to the State of Nebraska. The trial court granted Defendant's “Motion for Relief Against Foreign Judgment” and set aside the docketing of the State of Nebraska foreign judgment. Plaintiff appeals.

I. Standard of Review

In questions of personal jurisdiction, this Court “considers only ‘whether the findings of fact by the trial court are supported by competent evidence in the record;’ ... we are not free to revisit questions of credibility or weight that have already been decided by the trial court.” Deer Corp. v. Carter, 177 N.C.App. 314, 321, 629 S.E.2d 159, 165 (2006) (citation omitted). “If the findings of fact are supported by competent evidence, we conduct a de novo review of the trial court's conclusions of law and determine whether, given the facts found by the trial court, the exercise of personal jurisdiction would violate defendant's due process rights.” Id. at 321–22, 629 S.E.2d at 165.

II. Analysis

Defendant's Motion for Relief Against Foreign Judgment

Plaintiff argues that the trial court erred in granting Defendant's motion for relief from the Nebraska foreign judgment because Nebraska courts had personal jurisdiction over Defendant for the cause of action arising out of the sale of the car.

Generally, one state must accord full faith and credit to a judgment rendered in another state. However, because a foreign state's judgment is entitled to only the same validity and effect in a sister state as it had in the rendering state, the foreign judgment must satisfy the requisites of a valid judgment under the laws of the rendering state before it will be afforded full faith and credit.

To meet the requirements of a valid judgment, the rendering court must comport with the demands of due process such that it has personal jurisdiction—otherwise known as minimum contacts—over defendant. International Shoe Co. v. State of Washington, 326 U.S. 310 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945). The Due Process Clause protects an individual's liberty interest in not being subject to the judgment of a forum with which he has established no meaningful contacts or relations. Id. “A judgment rendered in violation of due process is void in the rendering State and is not entitled to full faith and credit elsewhere.” World–Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980). N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1A–1, Rule 60(b)(4) allows a party to petition for relief from judgment on the grounds that the judgment is void. A void judgment is a legal nullity which may be attacked at any time.

Bell Atl. Tricon Leasing Corp. v. Johnnie's Garbage Serv., Inc., 113 N.C.App. 476, 478–79, 439 S.E.2d 221, 223–24 (1994) (some citations omitted). This Court has held that, in actions to enforce a foreign judgment, the burden of proof on the issue of full faith and credit is on the judgment creditor. Lust v. Fountain of Life, Inc., 110 N.C.App. 298, 300, 429 S.E.2d 435, 438 (1993). The introduction into evidence of a copy of the foreign judgment, authenticated pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1A–1, Rule 44, establishes a presumption that the judgment is entitled to full faith and credit. Lust, 110 N.C.App. 298 at 301, 429 S.E.2d 435 at 437 (citing Thrasher v. Thrasher, 4 N.C.App. 534, 540, 167 S.E.2d 549, 553 (1969)). “This presumption can be rebutted by the judgment debtor upon a showing that the rendering court ... did not have jurisdiction over the parties[.]” Id.

In the present case, Plaintiff filed an authenticated judgment in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court of Iredell County. Therefore, Defendant, as the judgment debtor, had the burden of presenting evidence to rebut the presumption that the judgment was valid. We agree with Plaintiff that Defendant has not done so.

Nebraska courts perform a two-step analysis when determining whether a state court's exercise of personal jurisdiction over a defendant is constitutional. Quality Pork Intern. v. Rupari Food Services, Inc., 267 Neb. 474, 480, 675 N.W.2d 642, 649 (2004). First, Nebraska's long-arm statute must authorize the exercise of personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Id. Second, the trial court must consider whether minimum contacts exist between the defendant and the forum state and whether such personal jurisdiction may be exercised over the defendant without offending constitutional due process. Id.

In the present case, this Court must determine whether Nebraska's long-arm statute authorized personal jurisdiction over Defendant. Neb.Rev.Stat. § 25–536 (1983) reads:

A court may exercise personal jurisdiction over a person:

(1) Who acts directly or by an agent, as to a cause of action arising from the person:

(a) Transacting any business in this state;

(b) Contracting to supply services or things in this state;

(c) Causing tortious injury by an act or omission in this state;

(d) Causing tortious injury in this state by an act or omission outside this state if the person regularly does or solicits business, engages in any other persistent course of conduct, or derives substantial revenue from goods used or consumed or services rendered, in this state;

(e) Having an interest in, using, or possessing real property in this state; or

(f) Contracting to insure any person, property, or risk located within this state at the time of contracting; or

(2) Who has any other contact with or maintains any other relation to this state to afford a basis for the exercise of personal jurisdiction consistent with the Constitution of the United States.

Subsection (2) of the above statute “expressly extends Nebraska's jurisdiction over nonresidents as far as the U.S. Constitution permits.” Crete Carrier Corp. v. Red Food Stores, Inc., 254 Neb. 323, 328, 576 N.W.2d 760, 764 (1998) (citing Castle Rose v. Philadelphia Bar & Grill, 254 Neb. 299, 576 N.W.2d 192 (1998)). Therefore, we need only address whether Defendant had such minimum contacts with Nebraska that the exercise of personal jurisdiction would not offend federal constitutional principles of due process. Id. Depending on the quality and nature of Defendant's contacts with Nebraska, Nebraska's courts may have either general or specific personal jurisdiction over Defendant. Quality Pork, 267 Neb. at 482–83, 675 N.W.2d at 650.

Due process for personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant requires that the defendant's minimum contacts with the...