Opinion ID: 1696678
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Principles of Law and Standard of Review

Text: Article IV, § 1, of the Constitution of the United States requires that [f]ull faith and credit shall be given in each state to the ... judicial proceedings of every other state. In Durfee v. Duke, 375 U.S. 106, 109, 84 S.Ct. 242, 11 L.Ed.2d 186 (1963), the United States Supreme Court interpreted this provision, known as the Full Faith and Credit Clause, as follows: Full faith and credit thus generally requires every State to give to the judgment at least the res judicata effect which the judgment would be accorded in the State which rendered it. Furthermore, the Court made it clear that whether a state extends full faith and credit to a judgment of another state depends only upon the existence of a full and fair litigation in the foreign state of the issues resolved by that judgment: [A] judgment is entitled to full faith and crediteven as to questions of jurisdictionwhen the second court's inquiry discloses that those questions have been fully and fairly litigated and finally decided in the court which rendered the original judgment. Durfee, 375 U.S. at 111, 84 S.Ct. 242. The nature of our review of the legal conclusions of a trial court is de novo. City of Russellville Zoning Bd. of Adjustment v. Vernon, 842 So.2d 627 (Ala.2002). However, given the above principles, the scope of our review in this case is limited to examining whether the issue of personal jurisdiction was fully and fairly litigated and finally decided in Virginia.