Ruling Affirmed: Florida Third District Court of Appeal (Contested Foreign Judgment Domestication Proceeding)
Fort Lauderdale Partners, Jordan Cohen, and Tampa Partner, Ethan Arthur, recently prevailed in a contested foreign judgment domestication proceeding that was heard by the Florida Third District Court of Appeal.
We represented Dantzler Inc,. f/k/a Dantzler Lumber and Export Co, a Miami based distributor of lumber and logistics provider. This case has its roots in a shipment of lumber that was delivered to the wrong port in Mexico in 2001. Plaintiffs side litigation against the shipper was previously successfully resolved. In the interim, the lumber supplier, FV de Araujo, filed a collection action against Dantzler in Brazil. Dantzler’s registered agent failed to respond and an adverse Order was entered in Brazil in 2004.
Seventeen years later, FV de Araujo sought to enforce that Order as a Judgment against Dantzler in Florida pursuant to Florida’s Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act. By this date, the Brazilian award had ballooned to R$2.5 million BRL ($622,217.29 USD). Multiple hearings were held in the trial court as to whether the Order was a “Final Judgment” under the Act and/or whether it could be enforced in comity. The trial court dismissed the Complaint with prejudice and FV de Araujo filed an appeal.
Following oral argument, the Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal on all grounds. This opinion represents the most fulsome analysis of Florida’s Act, with possible broad application across all sister states that have adopted similar Recognition Acts.