FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, APPELLANT,
v.
PANELFAB INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation appealed the dismissal of a notice of recording of a federal court judgment under Florida's Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. The court held that the Act applies only to state court judgments, not federal court judgments, and therefore the FDIC could not domesticate the federal judgment through this procedure.
A federal court judgment is not a 'foreign judgment' under Florida's Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act because the statute's definition limits 'foreign judgment' to judgments from courts of other states. The exclusion of federal judgments does not violate the Full Faith and Credit Clause because federal judgments may be enforced in Florida through other domestication procedures.
[1] A state's foreign judgment enforcement act, as written, may exclude judgments from federal courts.
[2] The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, as defined in Section 55.502(1), Florida Statutes (1985), does not include judgments from United States District Courts.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Section 55.502(1), Florida Statutes (1985), specifically defines the term "for [eign judgment," which the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act governs, as "any judgment, decree, or order of a court of any other state if such judgment, decree, or order is entitled to full faith and credit in this state."”
Establishes the statutory definition that limits 'foreign judgment' to state court judgments
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe FDIC obtained a judgment against Panelfab International Corporation in the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The FDIC …
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal by a judgment creditor from a final trial court order dismissing a notice of recording of a federal court judgment. The notice was filed in the circuit court below by the judgment creditor herein [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] under the purported authority of the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act [§§ 55.501-509, Fla.Stat. (1985)]. The circuit court below dismissed this notice upon motion of the judgment debtor [Panelfab International Corporation] on the ground that
“[T]he definition of ‘[fjoreign [j]udgment’ contained in Florida Statute Section 55.-502(1) does not include ... the [¡Judgment from the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico which is the subject of this action....”
We agree and affirm.
Section 55.502(1), Florida Statutes (1985), specifically defines the term “for eign judgment,” which the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act governs, as “any judgment, decree, or order of a court of any other state if such judgment, decree, or order is entitled to full faith and credit in this state.” (emphasis added) Conspicuously absent from this definition is the term “court of the United States” which, in fact, appears in the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. Unif.Enf. of Foreign Jdgmt. Act § 1 (1964).
Moreover, our review of the legislative history of the Florida Act reveals a conscious legislative intent to delete the above provision from the uniform act so as to cover the judgments of state courts, but not those of federal courts. We therefore agree with the trial court that Section 55.-502(1), Florida Statutes (1985), does not embrace a federal court judgment and, therefore, the subject judgment herein could not be domesticated in Florida pursuant to the Florida Enforcement of Judgments Act.
Nor are we persuaded, as urged, that the full faith and credit clause of the United States Constitution [Art. IV, § 1, U.S. Const.] is offended by such an interpretation. This is so because all the present act does is accord to foreign state judgments the same treatment of notice recording within this state as presently exists for foreign federal judgments in the federal courts under 28 U.S.C. § 1963. Indeed, this appears to be precisely the reason why the Florida legislature excluded federal judgments from the present act as their inclusion was entirely unnecessary. Just as the full faith and credit clause is not offended by the federal act’s exclusion of state judgments, so too the subject clause is not offended by the Florida act’s exclusion of federal judgments. See Knapp v. McFarland, 462 F. 2d 935, 938-40 (2d Cir.1972).
Moreover, both state and federal foreign judgments are equally enforceable in Florida through a domestication action under Section 95.11(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1985). In no sense, then, can it be said, as urged, that foreign federal judgments are discriminated against in Florida, as they are given the same full faith and credit as foreign state judgments under the present federal-state statutory scheme.
We have examined the remaining contentions raised on appeal and find no basis for upsetting the final order under review. The said order is therefore, in all respects,
Affirmed.
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Michael, 832 So. 2d 213 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…ederal judgments who wished to place a lien on property in Florida had to file an action to domesticate the judgment in Florida and then record the judgment as a Florida judgment to create a lien. See Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Panelfab Int’l Corp., 501 So. 2d 167 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987) (holding that requiring federal judgments to proceed through a domestication action does not violate the full faith and credit clause). Since 1994, creditors with federal judgments can simply record a copy of the judgment in the c…
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- Knapp v. McFARLAND, 462 F.2d 935 (2d Cir. 1972)