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Bailey v. Sneed
Citations: 49 S.W.3d 327; 2001 Tenn. App. LEXIS 98
Court: Court of Appeals of Tennessee; February 15, 2001; Tennessee; State Appellate Court
Three judgment creditors filed a foreign judgment in the Chancery Court of Davidson County to enforce it under Tennessee's Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (Tenn.Code Ann. 26-6-101, et seq.). The chancellor enforced the judgment after the appellants, despite being served with a motion for default, failed to respond for fifty-six days and only submitted a response stating they were preparing a legitimate defense. After an additional twenty-two days of inaction, the court enforced the judgment. The appellants subsequently moved to set aside the default judgment, claiming they had a legitimate defense and asserting that their answer was filed just before the hearing. The defenses included that a prior dismissal judgment superseded the current judgment and that the defendant named was not a legal entity. However, the appellants did not provide evidence or legal authority to support their claims during the hearing. The chancellor ruled that the appellants did not meet their burden to obtain relief, citing that enforcement of the foreign judgment is effective after thirty days barring any appeals or stays. The court noted that relief from judgments aligns with Rule 60 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires proof that a judgment is void to set it aside. The appellants referenced two cases regarding inconsistent judgments, but those were deemed inapplicable as they involved verdicts based on the same facts, which was not the situation here. The appellants failed to provide any legal authority to support their arguments, which alone justifies affirming the lower court's decision. Additionally, as this involves a foreign judgment, Article 4, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution mandates that it must receive full faith and credit, meaning it should be treated as it would be in the state where it was originally rendered. The evaluation of the judgment's validity should focus on its treatment in the originating jurisdiction, an aspect the appellants did not address. Consequently, the trial court's judgment is affirmed, and the case is remanded to the Chancery Court of Davidson County for any necessary further proceedings. Costs of the appeal are to be taxed to Michael H. Sneed and his firm. Although the plaintiffs' attorney noted that an order was not strictly necessary for execution, it facilitates the clerk's process.