MANCO CONTRACTING COMPANY (W.L.L.), Plaintiff and Appellant, v. KRIKOR BEZDIKIAN, Defendant and Respondent.
No. S154076
Supreme Court of California
Nov. 17, 2008
45 Cal. 4th 192 | 195 P.3d 1054 | 85 Cal. Rptr. 3d 233
Benedon & Serlin, Gerald M. Serlin and Douglas G. Benedon for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Engstrom, Lipscomb & Lack, Walter L. Lack and Steven C. Shuman for Renato Guimaraes, Jr., as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant.
Revere & Wallace, Frank Revere, Gabriel S. Dermer; Roxborough, Pomerance & Nye, Gary A. Nye and Michael G. Kline for Defendant and Respondent.
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis, A. Kristine Floyd and Robert C. Shaia for Northrop Grumman Corporation as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.
OPINION
CORRIGAN, J.—In this case we decide when a foreign judgment is final for purposes of recognition under the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (UFMJRA) (
The UFMJRA authorizes recognition of “any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered even though an appeal therefrom is pending or it is subject to appeal.” (Former § 1713.2.) When a foreign judgment is appealed, and the foreign nation‘s law provides that a judgment on appeal is not final, does section 1713.2 permit a California court to recognize the judgment? We conclude the answer is no. The most reasonable interpretation of the admittedly confusing statutory languagе is that the law of the nation where the judgment was rendered determines
The UFMJRA does not prescribe a statute of limitations for actions to recognize foreign judgments.2 However, the act does provide (with one exception not relevant here) that a “foreign judgment is enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit. . . .” (Former § 1713.3.) An action to enforce a sister state judgment is subject to a 10-year statute of limitations (
BACKGROUND
On November 16, 1997, the Qatari company Manco Contracting Company (W.L.L.) (Manco) obtained a multimillion-dollar judgment against Krikor Bezdikian in the Grand Civil Court of Doha, in the nation of Qatar. Bezdikian appealed from the judgment, then left the country. He now lives in California. On May 23, 2000, a Qatari appellate court amended the judgment, reducing the award from more than $4.2 million to approximately $3.76 million. The Qatari appellate court issued a new judgment awarding Manco this new amount plus “a reasonable share of court expenses” and an amount for attorney fees.
On May 20, 2004, Manco filed a complaint in the Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to domesticate its Qatari judgment under the UFMJRA. Bezdikian sought summary judgment, arguing that the cause оf action accrued in 1997, and was therefore barred by the four-year statute of limitations of section 343, which both sides believed applied. (See Dore v. Thornburgh, supra, 90 Cal. 64, 66-67.)
In response, Manco submitted an expert declaration stating that, under Qatari law, a judgment is “never final” before conclusion of an appeal unless the parties previously agreed to treat the judgment as final, the judgment is nonappealable, or the time for appeal has expired. Thus, Manco maintained its cause of action did not accrue until May 23, 2000, when the Qatari appellate court issued its amended judgment. The trial court rejected this argument. Based on the analysis in Korea Water Resources Corp. v. Lee (2004) 115 Cal.App.4th 389 [8 Cal.Rptr.3d 853] (Korea Water), the court interpreted section 1713.2 to provide that the UFMJRA permits recognition of a foreign judgment that has been appealed, or is subject to appeal, regardless of whether the foreign country recognizes it as “final” under such circumstances. Accordingly, the court concluded Manco‘s cause of action for recognition accrued in November 1997, when the Qatari trial court entered judgment against Bezdikian.
The Court of Appeal reversed. Disagreeing with Korea Water, the court interpreted section 1713.2 to mean that a foreign judgment is not subject to recognition under the UFMJRA unless and until it is final, conclusive, and enforceable under the law where the judgment was rendered. If the foreign jurisdiction‘s law does not consider a judgment to be final while it is on appeal, then a claim under section 1713.2 to recognize the judgment cannot be brought until after the appellate process has ended. The Court of Appeal concluded the expert testimony offered by Manco raised a triable issue of fact about whether the initial judgment was sufficiently “final” and “conclusive” under Qatari law to satisfy section 1713.2, and therefore summary judgment should have been denied. Because the court‘s interpretation of section 1713.2 meant that Manco‘s claim was timely even under the four-year statute of limitations of section 343, the Court of Appeal did not consider Manco‘s additional arguments, raised for the first time on appeal, that no statute of limitations applies to a recognition action, or, alternatively, that the 10-year limitations period applicable to enforcement of sister state judgments (
DISCUSSION
I. When a Foreign Judgment Is Final Under the UFMJRA
California adopted the UFMJRA in 1967. Before the Legislature codified the provisions of this uniform act, the recognition and enforcement of foreign money judgments proceeded as a matter of comity. (Renoir v. Redstar Corp. (2004) 123 Cal.App.4th 1145, 1150 [20 Cal.Rptr.3d 603]; see Hilton v. Guyot (1895) 159 U.S. 113, 202-203, 205-206 [40 L.Ed. 95, 16 S.Ct. 139].) Comity remains the basis for recognizing foreign judgments not covered by the act, such as domestic relations judgments. (
The purpose of the uniform act was to codify the most prevalent common law rules for recognizing foreign money judgments and thereby encourage the reciprocal recognition of United States judgments in other countries. (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann. (2002) U. Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Prefatory Note, p. 40 (uniform act).) Many civil law countries make the recognition of foreign judgments dependent upon reciprocity. Drafters of the uniform act believed codification of uniform rules would satisfy foreign reciprocity concerns and encourage greater recognition and enforcement of American judgments abroad. (Ibid.; see also Bank of Montreal v. Kough (N.D.Cal. 1977) 430 F.Supp. 1243, 1249 [“The purpose of the Uniform Act was to create greater recognition of the state‘s judgments in foreign nations. This was to be accomplishеd by informing the foreign nations of particular situations in which their judgments would definitely be recognized, and thus encourage them to recognize California judgments.“].)
The dispute here centers on the meaning of section 1713.2, which describes the type of foreign judgments that may be recognized under the UFMJRA. Section 1713.2 states: “This chapter applies to [1] any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered [2] even though an appeal therefrom is pending or it is subject to appeal.” (Former § 1713.2.) California courts have disagreed about the extent to which the second clause undermines the first.
The Court of Appeal in this case gave primacy to the first clause, interpreting section 1713.2 “to consider a foreign judgment final, despite an appeal, if it is otherwise ‘final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered.’ (§ 1713.2, italics added.)” The court observed that, unlike California, some foreign jurisdictions consider a judgment to be final and conclusive even if subject to appeal or modification. Recognizing these differences, the Court of Appeal interpreted section 1713.2 to mean that, in all cases, recognition of a foreign judgment depends upon the judgment‘s finality, conclusiveness, and enforceability in the country where rendered, even if the foreign country‘s rules are different from those we apply in California.
The opposite conclusion was reached in Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th 389. There, the court termed the second clause of section 1713.2 the “appellate caveat.” Giving primacy to the “caveat,” the Korea Water court interpreted the statute to mean “California . . . will recognize foreign judgments that are final, conclusive, and enforceable, notwithstanding the fact they may still be subject to appellate review,” regardless of the foreign law on this point. (Korea Water, supra, at p. 398.) The Korea Water court recognized that there is considerable tension between the two clauses. Its attempt to reconcile them ultimately fails the tests of logic and practicality, however. The court observed, “section 1713.2‘s reference to a final, conclusive and enforceable judgment ‘where rendered’ makes it clear it is the status of the foreign judgment in the foreign country that determines whether the judgment is ripe for recognition in California.” (Ibid.) Yet it ultimately undermined this observation by concluding that the “appellate caveat” language was meant to override any contrary foreign law concerning the effect of an appeal: “The appellate caveat to section 1713.2 makes it clear that the fact that a foreign judgment is still vulnerable to change on appeal in the foreign country is not alone enough to preclude recognition of a foreign judgment which is otherwise final, conclusive, and enforceable in the foreign country.” (Ibid., second italics added.) The court appeared to say that we look to foreign law to decide whether a judgment is final, conclusive and enforceable, but if, under foreign law, the judgment is not final because of a pending or a potential appeal, we ignore foreign law and recognize the judgment anyway.
The Korea Water court went on to apply this principle in the case before it, which involved a multimillion-dollar Korean judgment. (Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at p. 394.) After the judgment was affirmed by Korea‘s intermediate appellate court, the judgment creditor filed a recognition action in California and obtained a writ of attachment on the judgment debtor‘s assets in this state. (Id. at pp. 394-395.) However, the appellate process in Korea was not finished. The judgment debtor moved for summary judgment in the recognition action on the ground that the Korean judgment was not final, conclusive, and enforceable in Korea because it was on appeal before the Korea Supreme Court. (Id. at p. 395.) He relied on article 471(1) of the
The Court of Appeal agreed the recognition action was properly dismissed because the judgment at issue had been largely undermined by the decision of the Korea Supreme Court. (Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at p. 402.) The Korea Supreme Court‘s ruling had rendered the judgmеnt “uncertain not only as to amount but also as to whether it is supported by a viable legal theory.” (Ibid.) As a result, the Court of Appeal concluded the judgment was not sufficiently “conclusive,” under section 1713.2, to be recognized in California. (Id. at pp. 402-403.)
However, the Court of Appeal also discussed whether the recognition action should have been dismissed previously because the judgment was not “final and conclusive” under Korean law when it was on appeal. (Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at pp. 399-400.)5 The court did not consider Korea‘s law on finality determinative. It reasoned that doing so “would in effect be
eviscerating the appellate caveat provision of section 1713.2.” (Korea Water, supra, at p. 399.) In other words, the court interpreted section 1713.2 to mean that “California has chosen not to preclude recognition merely because the judgment is subject to appellate review” (Korea Water, supra, at p. 400), even if this result is directly contrary to the law of the country where the judgment was rendered.
Perhaps recognizing the practical difficulties this interpretation could impose—difficulties which were in fact presented in the case before it, when the Korea Supreme Court overturned the very judgment a California court was prepared to recognizе—the Court of Appeal posited that the Legislature must have included the “appellate caveat” to give judgment creditors access to provisional remedies. (Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at pp. 401-402.) Under the court‘s view, a party could bring a recognition action to obtain provisional remedies to satisfy an appealed foreign judgment. The court could then stay the action until conclusion of the appellate process to avoid preserving a foreign judgment that might later be reversed. (Id. at p. 401.) The problem is there is no basis in legislative history, or elsewhere, to indicate that this process was contemplated or intended. On the contrary, as we have explained, the stated purpose of the uniform act was to satisfy the reciprocity concerns of foreign nations and encourage them to recognize judgments from the United States. (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann., supra, U. Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, Prefatory Note, p. 40.) Korea Water‘s interpretation of section 1713.2 appears to run counter to this goal of international cooperation because it would permit California courts to override foreign law with respect to the finality of a judgment pending on appeal.
We believe the better interpretation of section 1713.2 is the one reached by the Court of Appeal here. That is, California courts must recognize a foreign judgment, regardless of whether it has been appealed or is subject to appeal, so long as the judgment is final, conclusive, and enforceable in the country where it was rendered. The statutory language requiring recognition “even though an appeal therefrom is pending or [the judgment] is subject to appeal” (former § 1713.2) is not an exception to the requirements of finality, conclusiveness, and enforceability in the nation of origin. Rather, this language is meant to amplify the directive that finality, conclusiveness, and enforceability are to be assessed based on the law of the foreign jurisdiction where judgment was rendered. In other words, the “appellate
A cursory review of cases under the uniform act reveals that foreign countries have different standards governing when a judgment is final. (Compare S.C. Chimexim S.A. v. Velco Enterprises Ltd. (S.D.N.Y. 1999) 36 F.Supp.2d 206, 213 [Romanian law regards a judgment as final despite a pending appeal] аnd Dart v. Dart (1997) 224 Mich.App. 146, 153-154 [568 N.W.2d 353, 357] [English law regards a judgment as final even though it is subject to appeal or subsequent modification] with Mayekawa Manufacturing Co. v. Sasaki (1995) 76 Wn.App. 791, 797 [888 P.2d 183, 187] [under Japanese law, the lodging of an appeal prevents a judgment from becoming final].) Indeed, even in this country, federal and state laws may differ about when a judgment is final, conclusive, and enforceable. While in California a judgment is not final and conclusive between the parties when it is on appeal, or for as long as it remains subject to appeal, the federal rule is contrary. (Franklin & Franklin v. 7-Eleven Owners for Fair Franchising (2000) 85 Cal.App.4th 1168, 1174 [102 Cal.Rptr.2d 770]; Sandoval v. Superior Court (1983) 140 Cal.App.3d 932, 936-937 [190 Cal.Rptr. 29]; see Nathanson v. Hecker (2002) 99 Cal.App.4th 1158, 1163, fn. 1 [121 Cal.Rptr.2d 773] [explaining difference between California and federal law on finality].) By clarifying that a foreign judgment must be recognized in California if it is regarded as final under the rendering country‘s law, even though it has been appealed or is subject to appeal, the Legislature apparently sought to deter a judicial impulse to apply California‘s own, potentially contrary, understanding of when a judgment becomes final. If a foreign jurisdiction‘s law provides that a judgment is final and conclusive despite an appeal, section 1713.2 requires California courts to recognize a judgment from that jurisdiction unless certain grounds for nonrecognition apply (see former §§ 1713.4–1713.5). However, in such cases section 1713.6 gives the court discretion to stay the recognition proceedings until all foreign appeals have concluded.
This interpretation is generally consistent with decisions reached in other states that have adopted the uniform act. For example, in Dart v. Dart, supra, 568 N.W.2d at page 357 (applying Michigan law) and S.C. Chimexim S.A. v. Velco Enterprises Ltd., supra, 36 F.Supp.2d at page 213 (applying New York law), the courts concluded foreign judgments could be recognized under the act, despite the fact that the judgments were on appeal (Chimexim) or subject to modification (Dart), because they were final under the laws of the countries where they were rendered.
Our interpretation is also consistent with the one decision we have found that addresses the precise issue before us, i.e., whether the uniform act permits recognition of a foreign judgment that is not final under the law of the foreign jurisdiction where judgment was entered. In Mayekawa Manufacturing Co. v. Sasaki, supra, 888 P.2d at pages 184-185, a party sought recognition of a Japanese money judgment that stated it could be ” ‘preliminarily’ ” enforced. However, the judgment resulted from a special proceeding to which objections had been lodged, and Japanese law provided that a judgment does not ” ‘become final and conclusive’ ” until the time for taking an appeal or lodging an objection has expired. (Id. at p. 187.) Based on Washington‘s versiоn of the uniform act‘s applicability provision, which mirrors our section 1713.2,6 the court concluded it could not recognize the Japanese judgment. (Mayekawa Manufacturing Co. v. Sasaki, supra, at p. 188.) Although the judgment was “preliminarily enforceable,” it was not final and conclusive under Japanese law, and the Washington court considered this deficiency fatal to the recognition action. (Id. at pp. 187-188.) The court observed, however, that its ruling did not preclude a later application for recognition after the judgment became final and conclusive in Japan. (Id. at p. 189.)
To our knowledge, no court or other authority has reached the conclusion of Korea Water that the uniform act‘s requirement of a “final” judgment refers only to finality in the trial court, i.e., a judgment that is not interlocutory (Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at pp. 398-399). If the Legislature had intended to restrict the meaning of “final” in such a manner, it could have easily added the phrase “in the trial court” after “final.” Moreover, this interpretation of “final” would require California courts to recognize all noninterlocutory foreign judgments, regardless of whether such judgments are considered final under the law of the country “where [they were] rendered” (former § 1713.2). The plain meaning of the statutory language requires California courts to look to the foreign jurisdiction‘s law to assess the finality and conclusiveness of a judgment. When foreign law holds that a judgment is not final if it is interlocutory or if it is subject to appeal, section 1713.2 requires a California court to honor this procedural rule. We see no basis in the statute for courts to distinguish between the types of finality for which foreign law will be considered.7
Manco submitted evidence indicating the judgment in this case was not final under Qatari law until May 23, 2000, when the Qatari appellate court issued an amended judgment.8 Under section 1713.2, a cause of action to recognize the judgment could not have been maintained before its finality in 2000. Accordingly, Manco‘s May 20, 2004 complaint seeking recognition of the judgment was timely even under the four-year statute of limitations of section 343, and the trial court erred in granting summary judgment. As we discuss next, however, section 343 does not furnish the limitations period for recognition actions.9
II. Statute of Limitations
We last considered the statute of limitations applicable to an action upon a foreign judgment in 1891. In Dore v. Thornburgh, supra, 90 Cal. 64, the plaintiff brought an action “to recover upon” a judgment issued by an English court in 1885. (Id. at p. 65.) We rejected the defendant‘s argument that the complaint was barred by the two-year statute of limitations for an action upon
In 1967, more than 75 years after our decision in Dore v. Thornburgh, supra, 90 Cal. 64, the Legislature enacted the provisions of the UFMJRA. The act does not specify a statute of limitations for actions to recognize foreign judgments. It simply provides that, unless certain specified grounds for nonrecognition apply, “a foreign judgment meeting the requirements of Section 1713.2 is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money. The foreign judgment is enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit, except that it may not be enforced pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1710.10) of this title.” (Former § 1713.3.) The exception refers to the Sister State Money Judgments Act, which provides an expedited procedure for registering and enforcing sister state judgments in California. (
As initially enacted in 1967, section 1713.3 stated only that foreign money judgments were enforceable in the same manner as sister state judgments. (Stats. 1967, ch. 503, § 1, p. 1847.) At that time, ” ‘[t]he exclusive way to enforce а sister state money judgment in California [was] to bring an action on the judgment . . . . This traditional manner of enforcing judgments of sister states require[d] all the normal trappings of an original action.’ (11 Cal. Law Revision Com. Rep. (1973), p. 457.)” (Renoir v. Redstar Corp., supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1150-1151.) When the Legislature passed the Sister State Money Judgments Act in 1974, it amended section 1713.3 to clarify that judgments secured in foreign countries cannot be enforced using these new expedited procedures. (Stats. 1974, ch. 211, § 5, p. 409.) Rather, foreign money judgments must “be enforced with ‘all the normal trappings of an original action’ that had existed before in connection with the enforcement of sister state judgments. [Citations.]” (Renoir v. Redstar Corp., supra, at p. 1151.)
There is an analytical difference between recognition of a foreign judgment and enforcement of that judgment. A foreign judgment must be recognized before it is enforced, making enforcement, perhaps, the most common reason for filing such an action. Of course, recognition may also be sought so that a
Manco notes that California‘s UFMJRA does not include a statute of limitations but requires only that a foreign judgment be “final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered” to be subject to recognition. (Former § 1713.2, italics added.) This requirement ensures that a foreign judgment will not be recognized in California if it is unenforceable under the statute of limitations, or on any other basis, in the country where it was rendered. Manco argues the absence of a limitations period in the UFMJRA reflects a legislative intent that no California statute of limitations can bar recognition of a foreign judgment.
The Florida Supreme Court adopted this reasoning in interpreting its version of the uniform act. (Nadd v. Le Credit Lyonnais, S.A. (Fla. 2001) 804 So.2d 1226 (Nadd).) The court explained that “the UFMJRA contemplates a two-step process before the judgment can be collected in this state. First, the judgment must be recognized; then the judgment creditor must institute enforcement proceedings.” (Id. at p. 1231.) Because the act does not list expiration of the forum state‘s statute of limitations as a ground for nonrecognition of a foreign judgment, the Nadd court concluded no Florida statute of limitations applies to the recognition of forеign judgments under its act. (Id. at p. 1233 [“the only limitation applicable to the recognition of a foreign money judgment is that the judgment be enforceable where rendered; Florida‘s statute of limitations does not affect the recognition portion of a UFMJRA action“].) The relevance of Nadd‘s holding to our case is questionable because, unlike California, Florida has adopted a bifurcated approach. Expedited procedures permit the recognition of a foreign judgment without the filing of a civil action. (See id. at pp. 1230-1231 [discussing the recognition procedure in
California has not enacted an expedited procedure for the registration of foreign judgments. Rather, a party seeking recognition of a foreign judgment under the UFMJRA must file a civil action. (Renoir v. Redstar Corp., supra, 123 Cal.App.4th at p. 1151.)12 In California, “[c]ivil actions, without exception,” must bе commenced within a statutorily prescribed limitations period. (
Once a foreign judgment is recognized, it is enforceable in the same manner as a sister state judgment (former § 1713.3) or domestic judgment (see
We disagree. The distinction Bezdikian seeks to draw between a recognition action and an enforcement action is artificial and misleading when applied in the statute of limitations context. Although California does not have expedited procedures for registration of a foreign judgment, the law of this state does not require a judgment creditor to file two successive actions, first for recognition and then for enforcement, in order to recover on a foreign judgment. When an action is brought on a foreign money judgment, enforcement, i.e., recovery of the amount of the judgment, is most frequently the ultimate goal. Actions such as the one before us are commonly called domestication actions because the relief they seek is entry of a California judgment for the amount of the foreign judgment. This “domestication” of the foreign judgment enables the judgment creditor to pursue all the enforcement avenues available for recovering domestic money judgments. (See, e.g., Korea Water, supra, 115 Cal.App.4th at p. 395 [action sought California judgment for money owed on Korean judgment]; see also Dore v. Thornburgh, supra, 90 Cal. at p. 65 [action sought “to recover upon” an English judgment].) Although it might be theoretically possible for a party to bring a recognition action without seeking to enforce the foreign judgment, the parties recognize enforcement is almost always the ultimate goal. Certainly, the present case involves more than a simple claim for recognition. Manco‘s complaint seeks recognition of the Qatari judgment for the purpose of enforcing it.
Based on the directive of section 1713.3 that foreign judgments be enforced in the same manner as sister state judgments, we conclude the 10-year statute of limitations applicable to actiоns upon sister state judgments (
Considering that the Legislature has given judgment creditors 10 years to enforce domestic and sister state judgments, and has also indicated an intent to apply this 10-year period to the enforcement of foreign judgments (see former § 1713.3), it would make no sense to hold that a shorter limitations period applies to the preliminary proceedings necessary to recognize the judgment. In a typical domestication action, Bezdikian‘s view would require
Amicus curiae Northrop Grumman posits reasons why the Legislature may have wished to place a four-year limit on an action to recognize a foreign judgment even as it allowed a longer time period, i.e., 10 years, for enforcement of the same judgment. The Legislature may have been especially concerned about a judgment debtor‘s ability to prove defenses to a foreign judgment, for example, or the Legislature may have been concerned about applying different statutes of limitations to foreign money judgments as opposed to other foreign judgments not covered by the UFMJRA. These asserted concerns are not expressed in the legislative history of the UFMJRA, however, and they are inconsistent with the Legislature‘s codification of a 10-year statute of limitations in the new UFCMJRA.
Section 1721, which went into effect January 1, 2008, provides: “An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment shall be commenced within the earlier of the time during which the foreign-country judgment is effective in the foreign country or 10 years from the date that the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country.” Thus, a foreign judgment may be recognized for as long as it is effective in its country of origin up to a maximum of 10 years. The new uniform act establishes a limitations period of 15 years (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann. (2008 supp.) U. Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act, § 9, p. 18); however, our Legislature reduсed this period to 10 years to be consistent with the 10-year period of enforceability for domestic and sister state judgments. (See Sen. Com. on Judiciary, Analysis of Sen. Bill No. 639 (2007-2008 Reg. Sess.) May 8, 2007, p. 16 [suggesting action to recognize a foreign judgment should have a
DISPOSITION
The judgment of the Court of Appeal is affirmed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings in the trial court.
George, C. J., Baxter, J., Werdegar, J., Chin, J., and Moreno, J., concurred.
KENNARD, J., Concurring and Dissenting.—This case raises two issues under a now repealed law, the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (
The second issue is the statute of limitations that applied to an action brought under the former act. On that issue, the majority holds that the statute of limitations was 10 years, the same as for an action on a sister state judgment. Here also, I disagree. I conclude that an action on a foreign-country judgment under the now repealed act was governed by the four-year “catch all” limitations period of
Although I disagree with the majority‘s conclusions on both of these issues, I agree with its disposition, which effectively remands the matter for further proceedings in the trial court. As I will explain, I agree that, on the present record, defendant Bezdikian is not entitled to summary judgment.
I
Plaintiff Manco Contracting Company (W.L.L.) (Manco) sued defendant Krikor Bezdikian (a former partner of Manco) in Qatar, a Persian Gulf
In May 2004, Manco brought this action on the Qatari judgment in Los Angeles Superior Court. Bezdikian moved for summary judgment on the ground that the action was untimely. He argued that the statute of limitations was four years, that the limitations period began running in 1997 when the Qatar trial court entered judgment, and that it expired in 2001. Manco argued, to the contrary, that the applicable statute of limitations was 10 years, the same as for an action on a sister state judgment (
The Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that the statute of limitations did not begin to run if, under Qatari law, the trial court‘s judgment was not final while on appeal, and that the expert declarations had raised a triable issue of fact on that point. The Court of Appeal declined to decide whether the limitations period was four years or 10 years.
II
In 1962, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (Commissioners) promulgated the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (1962 Uniform Act). They explained that because many foreign countries’ courts applied a rule of reciprocity, codification of state rules on recognizing and enforcing foreign country judgments would increase thе chances that those foreign courts would recognize and enforce our state court judgments. In 1967, California adopted the 1962 Uniform Act as
Under California law, the word “final” has various meanings as applied to a judgment. (See generally 7 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (5th ed. 2008) Judgment, § 7, pp. 551-552 [listing various meanings of “final judgment“].) In one sense, all California state court judgments are final because finality is part of the definition of a judgment. (See
The term “final” in former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure might have any of these meanings, or perhaps another meaning altogether, but like all statutory terms it must have some definite meaning. The majority appears to conclude, however, that the term “final” in former section 1713.2 has no single fixed meaning but instead, chameleonlike, it takes on whatever meaning the term has in the law of the foreign country where the judgment to be enforced was rendered. I do not understand how this can be so.
If the foreign jurisdiction‘s laws are similar to California‘s, the term “final,” as applied to a judgment or decision, will be ambiguous, carrying multiple possible meanings. How is a court in California to determine which of these meanings to apply? The problem is even more intractable when, as here, the foreign jurisdiction‘s law is written in a language other than English. (The official language of Qatar is Arabic.) Before an expert can determine whether the foreign-country judgment is “final” within the meaning of former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the term “final” must be translated into the foreign language, and this can be done only if the term is first given a single, unambiguous meaning.
Here, both parties submitted declarations from experts on the law of Qatar. Defendant Bezdikian‘s expert properly refrained from characterizing the
Manco‘s expert, in his declaration, did not take issue with this description of Qatari law and the status of the judgment against Bezdikian rendered by the Grand Civil Court of Qatar. Manco‘s expert, however, gave his opinion that “as a matter of Qatari law, the trial court judgment in this matter was not final, nor was any judgment final until the [Qatari] Court of Appeal entered its judgment on May 23, 2000.” He further explained that “unless made final by agreement or statute, a judgment under Qatari law by definition becomes final only when the time for appeal has expired or the Court of Appeal has entered its judgment.” (Original underscoring.) Applying his understanding of finality under Qatari law, the expert concluded that the Qatari judgment “did not become final until the [Qatari] Court of Appeal entered its judgment on May 23, 2000.” He also stated that, under Qatari law, when the Qatari court of appeal has entered its judgment, “the appellate judgment completely supersedes the trial court judgment.”
From a reading of this declaration, it is apparent that to Manco‘s expert “final” meant not subject to reversal, modification, or correction by any court for ordinary errors of law or fact or for abuse of discretion, or something very close to that definition. Manco‘s expert does not explain how he arrived at that definition, and his conclusion about the finality of the Qatari grand civil court‘s judgment would no doubt be altered if he were to apply a substantially different definition of finality.
No inquiry into Qatari law can ever determine the meaning of “final” in former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (§ 2 of the 1962 Uniform Act). Instead, the meaning of the California statute presents an issue of statutory construction for California courts to resolve using California law.
A rather strong indication of what “final” means in former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (§ 2 of the 1962 Uniform Act) is the language of that provision itself. It stated: “This chapter applies to any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered even though an appeal therefrom is pending or it is subject to appeal.” (Ibid., italics added.) By stating that the pendency of an appeal does not preclude a
This definition of the word “final” is consistent with an official comment to the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (the revised act), which California adopted in 2007, effective January 1, 2008, as
In summary, the former act provided that an appeal from the foreign-country judgment does not preclude a finding of finality, and it allowed the California court to stay the recognition action while that appeal is pending. Also, the revised act‘s official comment states that a judgment is final when it is not subject to additional proceedings in the rendering court other than execution. From these circumstances, I conclude that the term “final” in former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure refеrs to finality in the foreign jurisdiction‘s rendering court (that is, ordinarily, the trial court) and
III
More than a century ago, in Dore v. Thornburgh (1891) 90 Cal. 64 [27 P. 30], this court held that an action on a foreign-country judgment is governed by the four-year “catch all” limitations period of
In reaching a different conclusion, the majority relies on former section 1713.3 of the Code of Civil Procedure (§ 3 of the 1962 Uniform Act), which, as amended, provided: “Except as provided in Section 1713.4, a foreign judgment meeting the requirements of Section 1713.2 is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money. The foreign judgment is enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit, except that it may not be enforced pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1710.10) of this title.” (As amended by Stats. 1974, ch. 211, § 5, p. 409, italics added.)
In their “Prefatory Note” to the 1962 Uniform Act, the Commissioners stated: “The Act does not prescribe a uniform enforcement procedure. Instead, the Act provides that a judgment entitled to recognition will be enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a court of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit.” (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann. (2002) U. Foreign Money Judgments Recognition Act, Prefatory Note, p. 41.) Accordingly, the provision on which the majority relies was intended to specify what happens after the state court recognizes the foreign-country judgment. It concerns the enforcement mechanisms available to the judgment creditor, not the statute of limitations for bringing the recognition action. An official comment to section 9 of the revised act reinforces this point by stating that “[t]he 1962 Act did not contain a statute of limitations.” (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann. (2008 supp.) U. Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act com. to § 9, p. 18.) Indeed, the Commissioners recognized that one of “the more significant issues that have arisen under the 1962 Act” was “the need to establish a statute of limitations for recognition actions.” (13 pt. II West‘s U. Laws Ann. (2002) U. Foreign Money Judgments Recognition Act, Prefatory Note, p. 6.) Under section 9 of the revised act, which California has adopted for actions commenced after January 1, 2008, an action on a
Had the Legislature, when it adopted the former act, intended to abrogate the four-year statute of limitations that this court established in Dore v. Thornburgh, supra, 90 Cal. 64, it would have used equally plain language. It might have said, for example, that the foreign judgment is enforceable “in the same manner and within the same time” as a sister state judgment. (See, e.g.,
I therefore conclude that until it enacted
IV
I now apply these conclusions about the former act to the facts before the trial court when it ruled on Bezdikian‘s motion for summary judgment. Manco‘s complaint sought enforcement of two foreign-country judgments: the judgment of the Grand Civil Court of Qatar and the judgment of the Qatari court of appeal.
The judgment of the Grand Civil Court of Qatar for Manco and against Bezdikian was final, conclusive, and enforceable, within the meaning of former section 1713.2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, when it was rendered on November 16, 1997, and the statute of limitations for an action on that judgment in California began to run on that date. The applicable statute of limitations at that time was the “catchall” four-year provision (
Manco appealed from the judgment of the Grand Civil Court of Qatar, and the Qatari court of appeal issued its decision on that appeal on May 23, 2000. According to the declaration of Manco‘s expert on Qatari law, the Qatari court of appeаl‘s decision took the form of a judgment that completely superseded the judgment of the grand civil court. If the Qatari court of appeal‘s decision is properly regarded as a new, separate, and enforceable judgment, its rendition commenced a new four-year limitations period, and Manco‘s California action, filed on May 20, 2004, was timely under the former act as an action on that judgment. On this basis, I agree with the majority that the matter should be remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.