Monks Own, Ltd. v. Monastery of Christ in the Desert

2007 NMSC 054, 168 P.3d 121, 142 N.M. 549
CourtNew Mexico Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 5, 2007
Docket29,973
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2007 NMSC 054 (Monks Own, Ltd. v. Monastery of Christ in the Desert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Monks Own, Ltd. v. Monastery of Christ in the Desert, 2007 NMSC 054, 168 P.3d 121, 142 N.M. 549 (N.M. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

BOSSON, Justice.

{1} In this case we are asked to examine the New Mexico Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act (the UFMJRA). NMSA 1978, §§ 39-4B-1 to -9 (1991). Specifically, we address whether New Mexico courts apply New Mexico or Canadian law to determine if the Canadian court had personal jurisdiction over the New Mexico party when it entered a judgment against that party. In other words, we are asked to determine which law is to be applied, and in what order we apply that law, when determining personal jurisdiction of the foreign court. This question is important because if the Canadian court did not have personal jurisdiction, then under the UFMJRA a New Mexico court need not domesticate the judgment. Although we utilize a somewhat different analysis from the Court of Appeals, we reach the same conclusion and affirm.

BACKGROUND

{2} Plaintiff, Monks Own Limited (Monks Own), a Canadian corporation, entered into a contractual agreement with Defendant Monastery of Christ in the Desert (the Monastery), for sale of its tradename. 1 The contract stipulated that the Monastery pay $150,000 for the name. After receiving only half the agreed-upon price for the trade name, Monks Own filed a complaint for breach of contract in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Although having received proper service, the Monastery refused to defend in the Canadian court because the Monastery did not recognize that courts jurisdiction over it as a New Mexico business. The Canadian court subsequently entered a default judgment against the Monastery.

{3} Monks Own then retained New Mexico counsel and filed a petition in New Mexico district court for recognition of its Canadian judgment under the authority of the UFMJRA, which “applies to any foreign judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered.” Section 39-4B-3. Under the UFMJRA, any such foreign judgment is “conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money,” and such judgments are “enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state that is entitled to full faith and credit.” Section 39-4B-4. Thus, the UFMJRA sets out procedures for the courts of this state to follow when determining whether a foreign judgment should be enforced against a New Mexico party. An important part of the UFMJRA addresses personal jurisdiction of the foreign court over a New Mexico party. Section 39-4B-6. Specifically, the UFMJRA enumerates situations in which personal jurisdiction of the foreign court is conclusive, therefore allowing for the domestication of the foreign judgment. Id..

{4} It is the personal jurisdiction section of the UFMJRA with which we are most concerned in this appeal. In response to Monks Own’s petition, the Monastery filed a motion to dismiss claiming the judgment could not be domesticated under the UFMJRA because the Canadian court lacked personal jurisdiction over it. The Monastery claimed that Monks Own could not demonstrate sufficient minimum contacts between the Monastery and Canada to satisfy due process standards under American jurisprudence. The district court disagreed and domesticated the judgment. The Court of Appeals affirmed. Monks Own Ltd. v. Monastery of Christ in the Desert, 2006-NMCA-116, ¶ 2, 140 N.M. 367, 142 P.3d 955. We take this opportunity to examine the UFMJRA, which we have had few prior occasions to address.

DISCUSSION

{5} At the outset of our discussion, we note that the Court of Appeals correctly observed that “a party is not required to raise an objection to personal jurisdiction before the foreign forum in order to preserve the issue for our appellate review.” Monks Own, 2006-NMCA-116, ¶ 6. Accordingly, although the Monastery never appeared before the Canadian court to raise its personal jurisdiction defense, the issue was properly preserved by being raised before the New Mexico court in response to Monks Own’s petition. Id.

{6} Based on the Court of Appeals opinion, the petition for certiorari, and the conditional cross-petition filed by Monks Own, we frame the issues as follows: (1) When enforcing a judgment from a foreign court under the UFMJRA, should a New Mexico court apply the law of the foreign state or the law of New Mexico to determine if the foreign court had personal jurisdiction over the defendant? See id. ¶ 13; (2) If applicable, did the Monastery have sufficient minimum contacts with the Canadian jurisdiction to satisfy our principles of due process of law? See id. ¶¶ 14-23.

{7} In regard to the first issue, we must determine whether, under the UFMJRA, Canadian law or New Mexico law applies to the determination of whether the Canadian court had personal jurisdiction. To do so, we must interpret the UFMJRA, which is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Simmons, 2006-NMSC-044, ¶ 6, 140 N.M. 311, 142 P.3d 899 (citing Romero Excavation & Trucking, Inc. v. Bradley Constr., Inc., 1996-NMSC-010, ¶ 6, 121 N.M. 471, 913 P.2d 659).

Law to Apply to Determine Personal Jurisdiction

{8} The UFMJRA lists situations in which a foreign judgment should not be recognized. Section 39-4B-5. One such reason for non-recognition is if the foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the New Mexico party. Section 39-4B-5(A)(2). As noted above, the UFMJRA addresses personal jurisdiction in depth. The UFMJRA lists six situations in which “[t]he foreign judgment shall not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction.” Section 39-4B-6(A). Under the UFMJRA, jurisdiction cannot be found lacking if:

(1) the defendant was served personally in the foreign state;
(2) the defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceedings, other than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceedings or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over him;
(3) the defendant prior to the commencement of the proceedings had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;
(4) the defendant was domiciled in the foreign state when the proceedings were instituted, or, being a body corporate had its principal place of business, was incorporated, or had otherwise acquired corporate status, in the foreign state;
(5) the defendant had a business office in the foreign state and the proceedings in the foreign court involved a cause of action arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign state; or
(6) the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign state and the proceedings involved a cause of action arising out of that operation.

Id.

{9} None of these factors apply to the Monastery.

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Bluebook (online)
2007 NMSC 054, 168 P.3d 121, 142 N.M. 549, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/monks-own-ltd-v-monastery-of-christ-in-the-desert-nm-2007.