North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. v. John M. Mabry
North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. v. John M. Mabry
Opinion
¶ 1. In December 2004, North Dallas Bank & Trust Company (North Dallas) obtained a default judgment in Texas against John Mabry. In December 2014, North Dallas enrolled the judgment in Mississippi. In February 2016, Mabry filed a motion to set aside the enrollment of the judgment pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4). The Alcorn County Circuit Court granted Mabry's motion, holding that the judgment was unenforceable because it was enrolled more than seven years after the Texas judgment was entered.
See
¶ 2. On appeal, North Dallas argues that the circuit court erred because Mabry waived his statute of limitations defense and did not file his Rule 60(b)(4) motion "within a reasonable time." However, we conclude that the circuit court correctly applied the precedent of this Court holding that attempts to enroll or enforce a foreign judgment after the expiration of the statutory limitations period are void ab initio. Therefore, we affirm.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶ 3. On December 14, 2004, North Dallas obtained a default judgment against Mabry in state court in Texas for a total of $470,521.43 plus post-judgment interest. Almost ten years later, on December 11, 2014, North Dallas filed a notice of enrollment of the judgment in the Alcorn County Circuit Court. North Dallas's certificate of service shows that it mailed a copy of the notice to both an address in Savannah, Tennessee, and a restaurant in Corinth, the Chop House Shiloh Ridge (Chop House). North Dallas alleged, on information and belief, that the Savannah address was Mabry's last known address and that Mabry could also be found at the Chop House, where he was once employed. The docket appears to show that the circuit clerk sent notice of the enrollment to both addresses by certified mail, but the notice sent to the Savannah address was returned to the clerk marked not deliverable/unable to forward.
¶ 4. In January 2015, North Dallas sought to enforce the enrolled judgment through a writ of garnishment directed to the Chop House. A sheriff's return shows that the writ and a summons were served on the Chop House, but the Chop House failed to respond. North Dallas subsequently filed a motion for a conditional judgment against the Chop House as garnishee. In July 2015, the circuit court granted North Dallas's motion and ordered the Chop House to appear at a show-cause hearing. However, hearing notices mailed to the Chop House were returned as undeliverable. The Chop House apparently ceased operations at some point.
¶ 5. In January 2016, counsel for Mabry filed an entry of appearance. In February 2016, Mabry filed a motion to set aside the judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure. Mabry argued that the enrollment of the judgment was "void" because it was filed in Mississippi more than seven years after the judgment was entered in Texas.
See
¶ 6. Following a hearing, the circuit court granted Mabry's Rule 60(b)(4) motion. The court found that the judgment was unenforceable because it was enrolled more than seven years after it was entered in Texas. North Dallas appealed. 1
ANALYSIS
¶ 7. North Dallas argues that the circuit court erred by granting Mabry's Rule 60(b)(4) motion. North Dallas contends that the judgment was not void, that Mabry waived his statute of limitations defense, and that Mabry's Rule 60(b)(4) motion was untimely. Our standard of review is de novo because the circuit court's ruling and the issues raised by North Dallas on appeal concern "the application of law to a set of undisputed facts."
Nat'l Enters. Inc. v. Valsamakis
,
¶ 8. Mabry failed to file a brief on appeal. We could "take [Mabry's] failure to file a brief as a confession of error and reverse."
Jay Foster PLLC v. McNair
,
¶ 9. The courts of this State are required to give "Full Faith and Credit" to judgments entered by the courts of other states. U.S. Const. art. IV, § 1 ;
see
Davis v. Davis
,
¶ 10. This Court has addressed the same basic issues raised in this appeal twice previously. In
Magallanes v. Magallanes
,
¶ 11. This Court subsequently reached the same conclusions in
Valsamakis
. In that case, National Enterprises (National) obtained a judgment in 1994 in Tennessee against Valsamakis.
Valsamakis
,
¶ 12. On appeal, this Court affirmed. We held that the garnishment action "was void
ab initio
" because the underlying judgment "lapse[d]" and "was extinguished by the expiration of the limitations statute."
¶ 13. The holdings of
Magallanes
and
Valsamakis
are on-point and controlling in this case. Those cases establish that efforts to enroll or enforce a foreign judgment outside the limitations periods set by section 15-1-45 are void-indeed, according to
Valsamakis
, "void ab initio."
3
Those two cases further hold that if a judgment is void for that reason, then the passage of time does not bar a motion to set it aside as void.
Valsamakis
,
¶ 14. This is consistent with Mississippi law in general regarding a motion to set aside a judgment as "void." Rule 60(b)(4) provides that a court may set aside a final judgment if "the judgment is void." M.R.C.P. 60(b)(4). The rule provides that such a "motion shall be made within a reasonable time." M.R.C.P. 60(b).
4
However, our Supreme Court has held "that, essentially, there can be no time limitation for relief from a void judgment as 'no amount of time or delay may cure a void judgment.' "
O'Neal v. O'Neal
,
¶ 15. In this case, North Dallas enrolled the foreign judgment nearly ten years after it was entered in Texas-almost three years outside the limitations period set by section 15-1-45. As in
Magallanes
and
Valsamakis
, the judgment was unenforceable, and its enrollment in Mississippi was void because it was not timely filed under section 15-1-45. Mabry filed his Rule 60(b)(4) motion fourteen months after the judgment against him was enrolled. In the circuit court, Mabry did not dispute that he received notice of the enrollment. However, Mabry correctly argued that the enrollment of the judgment in Mississippi was "void." As in
Magallanes
and
Valsamakis
, Mabry was not barred from seeking relief from the void judgment. "[T]here can be no time limitation for relief from a void judgment as 'no amount of time or delay may cure a void judgment.' "
O'Neal
,
¶ 16. In summary, the circuit court correctly held that the Texas judgment was unenforceable and its enrollment in Mississippi was void. Therefore, the court properly ordered the circuit clerk to cancel the enrolled judgment.
¶ 17. AFFIRMED .
LEE, C.J., IRVING AND GRIFFIS, P.JJ., BARNES, CARLTON, FAIR, GREENLEE, WESTBROOKS AND TINDELL, JJ., CONCUR.
North Dallas filed its first notice of appeal one day too late. However, North Dallas then filed a timely motion to extend the time for filing a notice of appeal, see Miss. R. App. P. 4(g), which the circuit court granted. North Dallas then filed a timely notice of appeal.
On this issue, this Court distinguished the Supreme Court's decision in
Davis
,
supra
. In
Davis
, the Supreme Court held that the judgment debtor waived various defenses to the enrollment of the judgment when he failed to file an answer or otherwise respond within the twenty-day period set by statute.
Davis
,
Void ab initio means "null from the beginning."
Hood ex rel. State Tobacco Litig.
,
"The first three subsections of Rule 60(b) require that a motion to set aside a judgment be filed not later than six months after the judgment is entered, but subsection (4) has no such time limit."
S & M Trucking LLC v. Rogers Oil Co. of Columbia
,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.