GNLV CORP., APPELLANT,
v.
ARTHUR FEATHERSTONE, APPELLEE; GNLV CORP., APPELLANT, V. EDWIN TUNICK, APPELLEE
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GNLV Corp., a Las Vegas casino, obtained a Nevada judgment against Featherstone and Tunick for gambling debts paid with bad checks, then recorded the judgment in Florida. The appellees challenged the foreign judgment and the constitutionality of Florida's Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. The appellate court reversed, holding the statute constitutional and requiring Florida to recognize the valid Nevada judgment under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
Florida's Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act is constitutional, and Florida must recognize and enforce the valid Nevada judgment under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. The trial court's invalidation of the Nevada judgment was reversed.
[1] A Florida court must recognize and enforce a valid foreign judgment under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.
[2] The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act is constitutional.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The present action involves a valid foreign judgment and is controlled by Trauger v. A.J. Spagnol Lumber Company, 442 So.2d 182 (Fla.1983), requiring Florida to recognize the Nevada judgment under the full faith and credit clause.”
Establishes the controlling legal principle that Florida must recognize valid foreign judgments under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellees Featherstone and Tunick incurred gambling debts at appellant GNLV Corp., a Las Vegas casino, and paid these debts with bad checks totaling $…
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GLICKSTEIN, Judge.
In an exercise of chutzpah which the writer would eschew if only because of movie engendered impressions, appellees here “stiffed” appellant, a Las Vegas gambling casino, by writing bad checks of $35,-000 and $30,000 to cover gambling debts incurred in Nevada.
Appellant sued appellees in Nevada and obtained a valid judgment there, complying with all of the necessary requirements as to notice and otherwise. When appellant then recorded the Nevada final judgment in Florida in accordance with Section 55.501, et seq., Florida Statutes (1985), appellees sued to invalidate the foreign judgment against them and to have the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act contained in Section 55.501, et seq. declared unconstitutional.
The trial court, relying upon Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960), and Dorado Beach Hotel Corporation v. Jernigan, 202 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967), invalidated the Nevada judgment, but did not expressly rule upon the constitutionality of the above statute, although the parties raised it in their motions for summary judgment. We reverse, holding the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act to be constitutional, and remand with direction to enter final judgment for appellant.
The above cases, upon which the trial court relied, are inapposite to the present situation. Both were actions ini tially filed in Florida, based upon gambling debts incurred elsewhere. The present action involves a valid foreign judgment and is controlled by Trauger v. A.J. Spagnol Lumber Company, 442 So. 2d 182 (Fla.1983), requiring Florida to recognize the Nevada judgment under the full faith and credit clause. See also Workingmens Cooperative Bank v. Wallace, 9 So. 2d 731, 732 (Fla.1942); Miller v. Kingsley, 194 Neb. 123, 230 N.W. 2d 472 (1975); Conquistador Hotel Corp. v. Fortina, 99 Wis.2d 16, 298 N.W. 2d 236 (Ct.App.1980); Hilton International Company v. Arace, 35 Conn.Supp. 522, 394 A. 2d 739 (App.1977); FMS Management Systems, Inc. v. Thomas, 65 N.C.App. 561, 309 S.E. 2d 697, 699 (1983); In re Smith, 66 B.R. 58 (Md.1986); and Casanova Club v. Bisharat, 189 Conn. 591, 458 A. 2d 1, 4 (1983).
We opt not to discuss all of the arguments raised with respect to the issue of constitutionality as appellees may seek review of our conclusion upon this issue in the state’s highest court, which is the judicial policy maker for Florida and the appropriate body, in our view, to speak to the parties’ arguments in this case. We have duly considered appellees’ arguments and reject them all.
LETTS, J., and GOLDMAN, MURRAY, Associate Judge, concur.
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M & R Invs. v. Hacker, 511 So. 2d 1099 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…ous to the case before us, the Fourth District has recently held that Florida courts are bound by the full faith and credit clause to recognize a Nevada judgment based on bad checks written to cover gambling debts. GNLV Corp. v. Arthur Featherstone, 504 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, Case No. 70,463 (Fla. Aug. 13, 1987). A public policy defense was rejected. The other cases relied upon by the debtor and by the trial court, Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960); Dorado Beach Hotel…
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Jacksonville Bulls Football, Ltd. v. Blatt, 535 So. 2d 626 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…ulls, and thus the judgment itself cannot be set aside as a fraud on creditors. . The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, Sections 55.501-.509, Florida Statutes (1985), was upheld as constitutional in the case of GNLV Co. v. Featherstone, 504 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). Florida, as well as 29 other states, has adopted the 1964 version of the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. The purpose of the 1964 Uniform Act was to simplify the enforcement of foreign judgments and to preserve the…
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Pratt v. Equity Bank, N.A., 124 So. 3d 313 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)…t’s position and hold that service of process is not required to enforce a foreign judgment against a judgment debtor. See Conidaris Constr. Co. v. First Atlantic Sav., 572 So. 2d 27, 28 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990) (“We agree with GNLV Corp. v. Featherstone, 504 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), that section 55.501, Florida Statutes (1988), which provides procedures for the domestication of foreign judgments in Florida, is constitutional. We do not agree ... that the provisions in that section for notice to the judgment…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Trauger v. A.J. Spagnol Lumber Co., Inc., 442 So. 2d 182 (Fla. 1983)
- Huey T. Young v. Sands, Inc., 122 So. 2d 618 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)
- Workingmen's Co-Operative Bank v. Wallace, 151 Fla. 329 (Fla. 1942)
- Dorado Beach Hotel Corp. v. Jernigan, 202 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1967)