BILL NUMBER: SB 320 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Sections 1716 and 1717 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, relating to judgments.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 320, as introduced, Corbett. Judgments: foreign-country money
judgments.
Existing law, Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition
Act provides that foreign-country judgments that grant or deny
recovery of a sum of money and that are final and conclusive are
enforceable in California, with specified exceptions. The act excepts
foreign-country judgments from its provisions in certain instances,
including when the judgment was rendered under a system that does not
provide impartial tribunals or the court lacked jurisdiction. The
act prohibits nonrecognition of a foreign judgment based on a lack of
personal jurisdiction if certain bases of personal jurisdiction are
present.
This bill would additionally except from recognition under the act
a defamation judgment obtained in a jurisdiction outside the United
States, unless the court in this state first determines that the
defamation law applied in the foreign court's adjudication provided
at least as much protection for freedom of speech and the press in
that case as would be provided by both the United States and
California Constitutions. The bill would provide that a court of this
state has personal jurisdiction over any person who obtains a
judgment in a defamation proceeding outside the United States against
any person who is a resident of California, or is a person or entity
amenable to jurisdiction in California who has assets in California
or may have to take actions in California to comply with the
judgment, for the purposes of rendering declaratory relief with
respect to that person's liability for the judgment, or for the
purpose of determining whether the judgment should be deemed
nonrecognizable pursuant to the act, if the publication at issue was
published in California, and the defendant has assets in California
that might be used to satisfy the foreign defamation judgment or may
have to take actions in California to comply with the foreign
defamation judgment.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1716 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended
to read:
1716. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b) and
(c), a court of this state shall recognize a foreign-country judgment
to which this chapter applies.
(b) A court of this state shall not recognize a foreign-country
judgment if any of the following apply:
(1) The judgment was rendered under a judicial system that does
not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the
requirements of due process of law.
(2) The foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the
defendant.
(3) The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject
matter.
(c) A court of this state is not required to recognize a
foreign-country judgment if any of the following apply:
(1) The defendant in the proceeding in the foreign court did not
receive notice of the proceeding in sufficient time to enable the
defendant to defend.
(2) The judgment was obtained by fraud that deprived the losing
party of an adequate opportunity to present its case.
(3) The judgment or the cause of action or claim for relief on
which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this
state or of the United States.
(4) The judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive
judgment.
(5) The proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an
agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was
to be determined otherwise than by proceedings in that foreign
court.
(6) In the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service,
the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of
the action.
(7) The judgment was rendered in circumstances that raise
substantial doubt about the integrity of the rendering court with
respect to the judgment.
(8) The specific proceeding in the foreign court leading to the
judgment was not compatible with the requirements of due process of
law.
(9) The cause of action resulted in a defamation judgment obtained
in a jurisdiction outside the United States, unless the court in
this state first determines that the defamation law applied in the
foreign court's adjudication provided at least as much protection for
freedom of speech and the press in that case as would be provided by
both the United States and California Constitutions.
(d) When If the party seeking
recognition of a foreign-country judgment has met its burden of
establishing recognition of the foreign-country judgment pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 1715, a party resisting recognition of a
foreign-country judgment has the burden of establishing that a ground
for nonrecognition stated in subdivision (b) or (c) exists.
SEC. 2. Section 1717 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to
read:
1717. (a) A foreign-country judgment shall not be refused
recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if any of the following
apply:
(1) The defendant was served with process personally in the
foreign country.
(2) The defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceeding, other
than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with
seizure in the proceeding or of contesting the jurisdiction of the
court over the defendant.
(3) The defendant, before the commencement of the proceeding, 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 country when the
proceeding was instituted or was a corporation or other form of
business organization that had its principal place of business in, or
was organized under the laws of, the foreign country.
(5) The defendant had a business office in the foreign country and
the proceeding in the foreign court involved a cause of action or
claim for relief arising out of business done by the defendant
through that office in the foreign country.
(6) The defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the
foreign country and the proceeding involved a cause of action or
claim for relief arising out of that operation.
(b) The list of bases for personal jurisdiction in subdivision (a)
is not exclusive. The courts of this state may recognize bases of
personal jurisdiction other than those listed in subdivision (a) as
sufficient to support a foreign-country judgment.
(c) A court of this state has personal jurisdiction over any
person who obtains a judgment in a defamation proceeding outside the
United States against any person who is a resident of California, or
is a person or entity amenable to jurisdiction in California who has
assets in California or may have to take actions in California to
comply with the judgment, for the purposes of rendering declaratory
relief with respect to that person's liability for the judgment, or
for the purpose of determining whether the judgment should be deemed
nonrecognizable pursuant to Section 1716, to the fullest extent
permitted by the United States Constitution, if both of the following
apply:
(1) The publication at issue was published in California.
(2) That resident, or person amenable to jurisdiction in
California, either (A) has assets in California that might be used to
satisfy the foreign defamation judgment, or (B) may have to take
actions in California to comply with the foreign defamation judgment.
The provisions of this subdivision shall apply to persons who
obtained judgments in defamation proceedings outside the United
States both prior to, and after, January 1, 2010.