ZILLA COURTHEOUX, FORMERLY KNOWN AS ZILLA GEORGE, APPELLANT,
v.
ALFRED GEORGE, A/K/A ALFRED GOODMAN, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1982-01-29
No. 81-1460
OTT and SCHOONOVER, JJ., concur.
410 So. 2d 532 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1982) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Zilla Courtheoux sought to domesticate a New York child support judgment against her former husband Alfred George in Florida. The trial court dismissed her suit after granting a directed verdict motion, but the appellate court reversed, holding that once properly authenticated foreign judgment documents are introduced, the burden shifts to the defendant to prove the judgment was satisfied.


Holding

Once properly authenticated copies of a foreign judgment are admitted into evidence, they establish a prima facie case and the burden shifts to the defendant to prove the judgment was satisfied. The trial court erred in granting the directed verdict motion because the plaintiff did not bear the initial burden of proving non-satisfaction.


Headnotes

[1] Payment of a judgment is an affirmative defense, and the burden of proving satisfaction rests with the party asserting the defense.

[2] The introduction of duly authenticated copies of a foreign judgment establishes a prima facie case for recovery, shifting the burden to the opposing party to prove the ju…

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Key Quotes

“payment is an affirmative defense”

Establishes that the defendant, not plaintiff, bears the burden of proving satisfaction of judgment

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Facts & Procedural History

Courtheoux obtained a $40,040 judgment against George for child support from Monroe County Supreme Court in New York on July 25, 1980. She introduced …

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Opinion of the Court
SCHEB, Chief Judge.

SCHEB, Chief Judge.

Zilla Courtheoux challenges the trial court’s dismissal of her suit seeking to domesticate a judgment for child support that she obtained against her former husband in New York. We reverse.

At trial Courtheoux, as plaintiff, introduced into evidence duly authenticated copies of a judgment for $40,040 entered against defendant Alfred George on July 25, 1980, by the supreme court in Monroe County, New York. The court received the documents, which showed personal service on the defendant, pursuant to section 90.-902, Florida Statutes (1979), and the plaintiff rested. The defendant then moved for a directed verdict1 alleging that the plaintiff failed to establish that the New York judgment remained unsatisfied. The trial court granted the motion and entered a final order dismissing plaintiff’s suit. This appeal ensued.

Courtheoux argues that she did not bear the initial burden of proving that the judgment had not been satisfied. She points to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.110(d), which provides that payment is an affirmative defense. Therefore, she contends that the defendant bears the burden of proving that the New York judgment had been satisfied. We agree.

Rutledge v. Rutledge, 357 So. 2d 466 (Fla.2d DCA 1978), is analogous. There, an ex-wife sued the estate of her former husband alleging that he had not conveyed a home to her as required by the final judgment of divorce. A certified copy of the final judgment was entered into evidence. Judge Grimes, writing for the court, noted that “the final judgment by itself carried with it a presumption that the obligations contained therein remained outstanding.” 357 So. 2d at 467. Here, Courtheoux introduced properly authenticated copies of the appropriate New York court documents. 28 U.S.C., § 1738. These documents established a prima facie case for recovery, and the burden of proving whether the judgment remained unsatisfied then shifted to the opposing party.

George now argues that because the plaintiff alleged the New York court had jurisdiction over the defendant, she had to prove this. He relies on First National Bank v. Brown, 119 Fla. 761, 162 So. 142 (1935), cited with approval in Pacific Mills v. Hillman Garment, Inc., 87 So. 2d 599 (Fla.1956). That reliance is misplaced. In Pacific Mills the court held that, while lack of jurisdiction in a foreign court should be raised in the defendant’s answer, a plaintiff’s complaint which raises jurisdictional issues is subject to a motion to dismiss. Unlike the complaint in Pacific Mills, no jurisdictional issue was raised by the pleadings in this case.2

Therefore, we hold that once the proper documents were admitted into evidence, the burden shifted to the defendant to refute the validity of the foreign judgment. Accordingly, the trial court erred in granting the motion for involuntary dismissal.

REVERSED.

OTT and SCHOONOVER, JJ., concur. . More properly a motion for involuntary dismissal under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.420(b).

. Fla.R.Civ.P. 1.120(e) provides:

In pleading a judgment or decree of a domestic or foreign court, judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or of a board or officer, it is sufficient to aver the judgment or decree without setting forth matter showing jurisdiction to render it.

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Citator

Cited By

  • O'Keeffe v. O'Keeffe, 522 So. 2d 460 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)
    …1295 (Fla.1985); Mlaska v. Mlaska, 449 So. 2d 423 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); Kopplow & Flynn, P.A. v. Trudell, 445 So. 2d 1065 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 453 So. 2d 44 (Fla.1984); Wales v. Wales, 422 So. 2d 1066 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Courtheoux v. George, 410 So. 2d 532 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982). The final declaratory decree and final order of dismissal under review are, in all respects, Affirmed.…

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