Royal Bank of Canada v. Trentham Corp.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
665 F.2d 515 (1981)
- Written by Elizabeth Yingling, JD
Facts
In a diversity suit brought in the Southern District of Texas, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) (plaintiff) sued Trentham Corp. (defendant), seeking the enforcement of a $250,000 default judgment entered by the Court of the Trial Division of the Alberta Supreme Court, Judicial District of Calgary. Trentham argued that, because an Alberta court would not have recognized a default judgment entered in the United States, a Texas court would follow the doctrine of reciprocity and refuse to enforce the judgment. At the time, Texas state courts had not addressed the applicability of the reciprocity doctrine. The district court granted summary judgment for RBC, holding that Texas courts would apply the modern trend of common law and would reject the reciprocity doctrine. Trentham appealed the summary judgment. While the appeal was pending, Texas adopted the Uniform Foreign Country Money-Judgment Recognition Act (the act) and added a provision that gave a court discretion to decline the enforcement of a judgment on the basis of reciprocity.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Randall, J.)
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