Opinion ID: 548964
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of Texas Law

Text: 21 The Bank maintains that the district court erred in applying Texas law instead of Abu Dhabi law, claiming the interest charged to Khreich was permissible under Abu Dhabi law. We uphold the district court's decision due to the Bank's failure to adequately prove in the district court the applicable Abu Dhabi law. 22 We affirm the district court's decision because the Bank failed to meet its burden to prove Abu Dhabi law to the district court. If the Bank wanted to rely on Abu Dhabi law, it was obligated to present to the district court clear proof of the relevant Abu Dhabi legal principles. Symonette Shipyards, Ltd. v. Clark, 365 F.2d 464, 468 n. 5 (5th Cir.1966), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 908, 87 S.Ct. 1690, 18 L.Ed.2d 625 (1967); Liechti v. Roche, 198 F.2d 174, 176 (5th Cir.1952). The only proof of the applicable law that the Bank presented to the district court was a translation of a portion of an Abu Dhabi statute regarding recognition of foreign judgments, several secondary sources purporting to explain basic Abu Dhabi law and a translation of something entitled Principles of Proof, which discusses signing a document in blank. The Bank did not attempt to introduce expert testimony or affidavits of lawyers familiar with Abu Dhabi law, stating their opinion as to the application of Abu Dhabi law in the instant case. It was not until the Bank appealed the district court's decision that it produced extensive translations of the relevant Abu Dhabi law and a letter from an Abu Dhabi lawyer explaining the applicable law. 23 Although the Bank acknowledges in its reply brief that the law it presented at trial may have contained significant shortcomings, it argues that it should be allowed to flesh out the pertinent provisions of Abu Dhabi law on appeal to this court. Appellant's Reply Brief at 12. As the Bank correctly points out, a trial court's determination of foreign law is viewed as a ruling on a question of law and therefore is fully reviewable by this court. Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1; First Nat'l City Bank v. Compania De Aguaceros, S.A., 398 F.2d 779, 781-82 (5th Cir.1968). Because foreign law is a question of law, the Bank argues that it should be permitted to present new foreign-law materials on appeal. 24 While it is true that an appellate court is free to review questions of foreign law on appeal, this argument does not, however, negate the Bank's burden of proof of the foreign law at trial. The law clearly states that absent sufficient proof to establish with reasonable certainty the substance of the foreign principles of law, the district court should apply the law of the forum. Symonette, 365 F.2d at 468 n. 5; Seguros Tepeyac, S.A., Compania Mexicana v. Bostrom, 347 F.2d 168, 174-75 n. 3 (5th Cir.1965). In this case, the fact that the Bank provided extensive supplements on appeal, containing translations of Abu Dhabi law and a statement from an Abu Dhabi lawyer explaining applicable law, is further evidence that better evidence could and should have been made available to the district court. The district court should not be asked to decide a case based on incomplete and frequently confusing explanations of foreign law, and the Bank should not be entitled to a second chance to meet his burden of proof on appeal. 25 It was the Bank's burden to provide the legal pigment and then paint the district court a clear portrait of the relevant Abu Dhabi law. The Bank failed to provide a pallet, a painter with a usable brush, and paint possessing distinct visibility. The resultant picture contains neither abstract nor realistic exposition. Given this state of the art, the district court was well within its discretionary realm to refuse to accept this virtually barren canvas when it was within the Bank's power to present a canvas upon which it had etched a clear and visible statement of the applicable Abu Dhabi law. Therefore we affirm the district court's application of the law of the forum.