Nadd v. Le Credit Lyonnais, SA

• Decision Date: 21 November 2001
• Docket Number: No. SC96917.,SC96917.
• Citation: 804 So.2d 1226
• Parties: Jean NADD, etc., Petitioner, v. LE CREDIT LYONNAIS, S.A., Respondent.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

804 So.2d 1226

Jean NADD, etc., Petitioner, v. LE CREDIT LYONNAIS, S.A., Respondent.

No. SC96917.

Supreme Court of Florida.

November 21, 2001.

Rehearing Denied January 11, 2002.

Philip A. Allen, III, and Felice K. Schonfeld of Philip A. Allen, III, P.A., Miami, FL, for Petitioner.

Myles H. Malman of Malman & Associates, North Miami, FL; and Robert M. Trien of Pressman & Trien, New York, NY, for Respondent.

QUINCE, J.

We have for review a decision ruling upon the following questions certified by the Fifth District Court of Appeal to be of great public importance:

(1) DOES FLORIDA'S STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS BAR THE REGISTRATION IN FLORIDA PURSUANT TO THE UNIFORM FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS RECOGNITION ACT (UFMJRA) OF TWO MONEY JUDGMENTS OBTAINED IN FRANCE IN 1978 AND 1979?

(2) IF FLORIDA'S STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IS APPLICABLE, WHICH PROVISION APPLIES: SUBSECTION (1) WHICH REQUIRES THAT AN ACTION (OR PROCEEDING) ON A JUDGMENT OR DECREE OF A COURT OF RECORD IN THIS STATE BE BROUGHT WITHIN TWENTY YEARS; OR SUBSECTION (2)(a) WHICH REQUIRES THAT AN ACTION (OR PROCEEDING) ON A JUDGMENT OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY OR ANOTHER STATE BE BROUGHT WITHIN FIVE YEARS?

Le Credit Lyonnais, S.A. v. Nadd, 741 So.2d 1165 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We answer the first certified question in the negative and hold that a foreign judgment that is enforceable where rendered can be registered in Florida beyond the time periods expressed in Florida's statute of limitations. We also hold, regarding the second certified question, that the twenty-year statute of limitations found in subsection (1) of section 95.11, Florida Statutes (1995), is applicable to actions to enforce foreign country money judgments in Florida.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Le Credit Lyonnais, S.A. (LCL), a French banking institution, obtained French judgments against Jean Nadd (Nadd). These judgments were entered in France on May 9, 1978, and October 1, 1979, totaling Fr¹ 484,836.51 and Fr 1,976,565.55, respectively. Pursuant to the Uniform Foreign Money Judgment Recognition Act (UFMJRA), sections 55.601-55.609, Florida Statutes (1995), LCL commenced actions in the Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, on October 4, 1994, and October 6, 1995,² seeking to enforce the French judgments. In the complaint, LCL indicated it had recorded a certified copy of the French judgments as well as certified translations of the judgments.

Over the course of several years, Nadd filed a number of motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment. On February 26, 1996, Nadd's motion for summary judgment was denied. However, final judgments granting Nadd's renewed motions for summary judgment were entered on April 14, 1998. The trial court granted these motions after finding the five-year statute of limitations applicable and denying recordation of the foreign judgments. LCL appealed this ruling to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. On appeal, the Fifth District disagreed with the trial court's disposition. The Fifth District found the Legislature adopted the UFMJRA to increase the likelihood of Florida judgments being honored in foreign jurisdictions. In order to promote this policy, the court stated that judgments still cognizable in a foreign jurisdiction should be recognized in Florida courts. Additionally, the Fifth District found that the twenty-year limitations period in section 95.11(1), Florida Statutes (1995), should apply to foreign judgments.³ After examining the application of the UMJRA in other jurisdictions and comparing the UFMJRA to the UEFJA, the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, section 55.501, et seq., Florida Statutes (1995), the district court said this approach allows for adequate time for registration and enforcement. We agree and approve the district court's decision on the issues certified.

DISCUSSION

In order to answer the two certified questions posed by the Fifth District, two determinations must be made regarding Florida's codification of the Uniform Foreign Money Judgment Recognition Act (UFMJRA). First, we must decide whether there is a time limitation imposed on the registration of foreign judgments in Florida. Second, we must determine which general provision concerning statutes of limitation, section 95.11(1) or 95.11(2), applies to either the registration or enforcement of a foreign judgment. An examination of the legislative intent behind the adoption of the UFMJRA is essential in order to properly address these issues.

The UFMJRA

The UFMJRA⁴ was adopted in Florida in 1994 to ensure the recognition abroad of judgments rendered in Florida. See Le Credit Lyonnais v. Nadd, 741 So.2d 1165, 1167 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (relying on Fla. H.R. Comm. on Judiciary, HB 51 (1993) Staff Analysis (Nov. 1, 1993)).⁵ The Act replaced common law principles of comity relating to the recognition of foreign judgments. See Chabert v. Bacquie, 694 So.2d 805, 810 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The UFMJRA by its terms applies to foreign judgments that are final, conclusive, and enforceable where they were rendered. See § 55.603, Fla. Stat.⁶

If a judgment creditor wishes to enforce a judgment in Florida under the UFMJRA, he must first file the judgment with the clerk of court of the county or counties where enforcement is sought. See § 55.604, Fla. Stat. The judgment is then recorded in that county. See id. Once the registration and recordation are complete, the clerk sends notice to the debtor, who then may file a notice of objection within thirty days of service. See § 55.604(2), Fla. Stat. Whether or not the judgment debtor responds within the thirty-day period, either party may apply for a hearing regarding recognition. See § 55.601(3), Fla. Stat. If no objections are filed within thirty days, the clerk of court files a statement stating that fact. Under such a circumstance, the judgment creditor is entitled to enforcement without a hearing. See Frymer v. Brettschneider, 696 So.2d 1266, 1267, n.4 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).

Despite these apparently comprehensive features, the UFMJRA does not include a statute of limitations provision upon which courts, judgment creditors, or debtors may rely when a judgment creditor seeks to enforce a foreign judgment in Florida. We turn then, as the Fifth District did, to Florida's general statutory provisions to determine a limitations period. In so doing, we seek to reconcile the policy underlying the UFMJRA of adequately affording reciprocal treatment of foreign judgments with our express limitations periods.

Florida's Statute of Limitations

Section 95.11, Florida Statutes (1995), provides, in pertinent part:

Actions other than for recovery of real property shall be commenced as follows:

(1) WITHIN TWENTY YEARS—An action on a judgment or decree of a court of record in this state.

(2) WITHIN FIVE YEARS.—

(a) An action on a judgment or decree of any court, not of record, of this state or any court of the United States, any other state or territory in the United States, or a foreign country.

In this case, the parties and the courts below have provided different interpretations of these provisions. LCL contends that neither statutory period should bar filing a foreign judgment and that the twenty-year period for enforcement actions should apply once the judgment is recorded and recognized in Florida pursuant to section 55.604(5). The Fifth District agreed with LCL, finding there is no limitations period applicable to registration of a foreign judgment as long as the judgment sought to be enforced is enforceable in the originating jurisdiction. The Fifth District further determined that once a foreign judgment is registered the twenty-year statute of limitations for enforcement of domestic judgments provided for in section 95.11(1) is applicable. On the other hand, Nadd asserts section 95.11(2)(a) should apply to registration of foreign judgments measured from the time the judgments were rendered in the originating jurisdiction; the trial court agreed with this argument and barred registration.

Because this case is one of first impression in Florida, the Fifth District arrived at its decision by examining the application of the UFMJRA in other jurisdictions. In so doing, the court discovered that few statute of limitations questions had arisen under the UFMJRA, but that several had arisen under a similar uniform law, the UEFJA.⁷ While this examination gives us an understanding of the scope of each of these uniform acts and an appreciation of the purposes for each, we find that the language of the UFMJRA and section 95.11, when read in pari materia, demonstrates the correctness of the district court's decision.

Application of UFMJRA and Section 95.11 to This Case

The UFMJRA provides in pertinent parts as follows:

55.601 Uniform Foreign Money Judgment Recognition Act; short title. —Sections 55.601-55.607 may be cited as the "Uniform Out of County Foreign Money Judgment Recognition Act."

55.602 Definitions.—As used in this act, the term:

(1) "Foreign state" means any governmental unit other than the United States, or any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the Ryukyu Islands.

(2) "Foreign judgment" means any judgment of a foreign state granting or denying recovery of a sum of money, other than a judgment for taxes, a fine, or other penalty.

55.603 Applicability.—This act applies to any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered, even though an appeal therefrom is pending or is subject to appeal.

55.604 Recognition and enforcement. —Except as provided in s. 55.605, a foreign judgment meeting the requirements of s. 55.603 is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money. Procedures for recognition and enforce-ability of a foreign judgment shall be as follows:

(1) The foreign judgment shall be filed with

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