North American Charitable Services, Inc. v. ADSA, Inc.

805 So. 2d 1226, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 61
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 23, 2002
DocketNo. 35,523-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 805 So. 2d 1226 (North American Charitable Services, Inc. v. ADSA, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
North American Charitable Services, Inc. v. ADSA, Inc., 805 So. 2d 1226, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 61 (La. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

| TWILLIAMS, J.

ADSA, Inc. (“ADSA”) appeals from a district court’s decision denying its motion to stay the execution of a Texas judgment rendered in favor of North American Charitable Services, Inc. (“North American”). For the following reasons, we affirm.

FACTS

On August 21, 2000, the 133rd Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas, rendered a judgment in favor of North American against ADSA, a Texas corporation whose principal place of business was in Monroe, pursuant to an “Agreed Motion for Confirmation of and Entry of Judgment on Arbitration Award” in the amount of $168,000.00. The judgment was the result of an arbitration proceeding between these and other parties that terminated on March 3, 2000. The judgment specifies in part:

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that North American have final judgment against ADSA and that North American have and recover the sum of $168,000 from ADSA....
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all writs and processes for the enforcement and collection of this judgment or the costs of the court may issue as necessary. All other relief not expressly granted in this judgment is denied.

On September 19, 2000, North American filed an ex parte petition in the Fourth Judicial District Court, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, to have the Texas judgment made executory in Louisiana. On that same day, the district court signed a judgment making the Texas judgment executo-ry in Ouachita Parish. The record reflects that the district court clerk mailed notice of judgment to ADSA on September 29, 2000, and a return receipt shows that LAPSA received the notice on October 5, 2000.

On October 30, 2000, North American filed a petition for garnishment in the Fourth Judicial District Court seeking to garnish ADSA’s bank account at Cross Keys Bank in Ouachita Parish. A writ of fieri facias was issued and served upon the bank with the petition for garnishment. The garnishee bank answered interrogatories stating that on November 10, 2000, ADSA had two accounts with a total balance of $9,903.67. On December 12, 2000, North American for an unexplained reason [1228]*1228refiled its petition for garnishment. North American also filed a motion to examine judgment debtor, stating that no amount of its judgment against ADSA had been paid. The court granted the motion to examine judgment debtor. On January 2, 2001, North American filed a motion for judgment against the garnishee bank in the amount of $9,903.67, and the matter was set for a hearing on January 23, 2001.

On January 17, 2001, ADSA filed into the record a notice of the January 2, 2001 commencement of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings by ADSA. The letter accompanying this filing requested that the hearing on the motion for garnishment be removed from the court’s docket due to the bankruptcy of ADSA.

Thereafter, on March 7, 2001, ADSA filed in the district court a “Contradictory Motion to Stay Execution of Foreign Judgment.” ADSA urged that the Texas judgment “may not be recognized and made executory by this court” because the Texas judgment had been completely satisfied, and because it was not a money judgment but was “merely a judgment |Bconfirming the arbitration award.” ADSA further urged that in the arbitration proceedings that led to the Texas judgment, the parties agreed that ADSA could satisfy the judgment with the execution of a promissory note. Attached to this filing was a copy of the parties’ mutual release and settlement agreement, executed on February 11, 2000, which provides, in part:

4.1The parties further agree as follows:
a. ADSA shall pay North American a total of $168,000 inclusive of unpaid compensation, attorneys’ fees, arbitrator’s fees and costs of court pursuant to the terms of a promissory note which it agrees to execute contemporaneous herewith in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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f. ADSA and Smith agree that North American will file an Application for Confirmation of and Entry of Judgment on Arbitration Award in any state court with jurisdiction in Louisiana or Texas. If a state district court in Texas otherwise has jurisdiction, ADSA consents to the jurisdiction and venue of the state district court of Harris County for the purposes of the Application for Confirmation of and Entry of Judgment on Arbitration Award.
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7. Applicable Law and Dispute Resolution
7.1 The laws of the State of Texas shall govern the construction and interpretation of this Release without regard to that jurisdiction’s doctrine of the conflict of laws.
7.2 The parties agree that any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Mutual Release and Settlement Agreement, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

|4Also included with this pleading as an exhibit was a copy of the promissory note executed by ADSA in favor of North American. The note, in the amount of $168,000.00 and dated February 11, 2000, specified that ADSA would pay North American $3,500.00 per month commencing on March 1, 2000. The note further specified:

4. Default. The term “Default” means: (a) The failure or refusal of Borrower to make any payment hereunder when due [1229]*1229or to comply with any provision herein; ... (c) Borrower becomes insolvent, fails to pay its debts generally as they become due or becomes the subject of any proceeding under any debtor relief law. In the event of a Default, Lender may (i) declare the entire unpaid balance of this note, or any part thereof, immediately due and payable, whereupon it shall be due and payable (provided that, upon the occurrence of a Default under clause (c) above, this note shall automatically become due and payable without notice or other action of any kind); ... (iii) proceed to protect and enforce any other legal or equitable right or remedy of Lender.
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9. Arbitration. The Lender and Borrower agree that any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this note, or the breach thereof, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator(s) may be entered in any court (sic) have jurisdiction thereof. The Lender and Borrower agree that the locale for any arbitration hearing or proceeding hereunder will be Houston, Harris County, Texas and that the dispute will be submitted to one arbitrator.

The parties again chose Texas law to control the agreement. ADSA did not raise the defense of automatic stay due to its bankruptcy in its motion to stay the execution of the judgment.

On April 27, 2001, the Louisiana district court held a hearing on ADSA’s motion to stay execution of the judgment. At this hearing, counsel for North American stated that ADSA’s bankruptcy had been dismissed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
805 So. 2d 1226, 2002 La. App. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/north-american-charitable-services-inc-v-adsa-inc-lactapp-2002.