Society of Lloyd's v. Anderson
2004 WL 1243220 (N.D.Tex.)
June 4, 2004
United States District Court,
N.D. Texas, Dallas Division.
THE SOCIETY OF LLOYD'S, Plaintiff, v.
Reyburn Upshaw ANDERSON Defendant.
No. 3-03-MC-112-D.June 4, 2004.
Andrew M. Edison, Bracewell &
Patterson, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff.
Kenneth A. Thomas, Thomas & Gay,
Dallas, TX, for Defendant.
SUPPLEMENTAL FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
KAPLAN, Magistrate J.
*1 This case has been re-referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeff
Kaplan for a supplemental recommendation on the issue of post-judgment
interest. The findings and recommendation of the magistrate judge are as
follow:
I. This is a miscellaneous action
brought by The Society of Lloyd's ("Lloyd's) for recognition of a £
136,913.91 judgment, which equates to $219,472.99 in U.S. dollars, entered
against Reyburn Upshaw Anderson ("Anderson") by the High Court of
Justice, Queen's Bench Division, London, England. On April 27, 2004, the
magistrate judge recommended that Anderson's motion for nonrecognition of
foreign country judgment be denied and that Lloyd's motion for recognition of
the judgment be granted. The Society of Lloyd's v. Anderson, 2004 WL 905618
(N.D.Tex. Apr.27, 2004). [FN1] The district judge implicitly adopted this
recommendation on May 14, 2004, but re-referred the case to the magistrate
judge for a recommendation as to "whether the court should award
[post-judgment] interest and, if so, what the amount awarded should be."
ORDER OF RE-REFERENCE, 5/14/04. Upon receipt of this order, the magistrate
judge invited the parties to brief the applicable law governing the rate of
post-judgment interest to be awarded in this case. See ORDER, 5/18/04. Lloyd's
filed its brief on June 1, 2004. Anderson has not submitted a brief.
Accordingly, this matter is ripe for determination.
FN1. The magistrate judge also
recommended dismissal of Anderson's counterclaim against Lloyd's for filing a
"false pleading" in violation of Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. ¤
12.003(a)(7). Anderson, 2004 WL 905618 at *5.
II. The Uniform Foreign Country
Money-Judgment Recognition Act ("Recognition Act"), Tex. Civ. Prac.
& Rem.Code Ann. ¤ 36.001, et seq., does not address the issue of
post-judgment interest. Nor does the judgment entered against Anderson specify
a post-judgment interest rate. However, under English law, interest on a
judgment accrues at the rate of "8 per cent per annum." See JUDGMENTS
ACT OF 1838, ch. 110, ¤ 17[1], as amended by Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest)
Order, 1993 No. 564 (Mar.1993). Application of the English post-judgment
interest rate is consistent with the prevailing view that "[a] foreign
judgment ... bears interest according to the law of the place where it was
rendered ..." 2 J.H. Beale, A Treatise on the Conflict of Laws ¤ 420.1 at
1338 (1935). Although recent authority is scant, at least one federal district
court has held that English law governs the award of post-judgment interest
"because this action involves enforcement of English Judgments and because
the Defendants agreed that English Law would govern any disputes that arose
between them and Lloyd's ..." The Society of Lloyd's v. Bennett, No.
2-02-CV-204TC, or. at 4 (D.Utah Mar. 18, 2003). The same rationale applies
here. [FN2] Indeed, a contrary ruling would only partially enforce the English
judgment, thus undermining this court's determination that the judgment is
entitled to comity.
FN2. As part of his General
Undertaking, Anderson agreed to resolve all disputes with Lloyd's in England
under English law. (See Lloyd's Mot. for Rec. of Foreign Jmt., Exh. A-1).
RECOMMENDATION For these reasons,
Lloyd's is entitled to post-judgment interest on the English judgment at the
rate of 8% per annum.