Opinion ID: 2502147
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Default Judgment Entered in the Western District of Missouri

Text: This case has its origins in a tragedy. On November 11, 1990, petitioners' thirteen-year-old son, Kale Ryan Walters, was killed on a hunting trip with his father when a Chinese-manufactured rifle the boy was carrying allegedly malfunctioned and discharged. In November 1993, the Walters sued China and entities allegedly controlled by that sovereign in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri on theories of products liability, negligence, and breach of warranty in connection with the manufacture and export of the gun in question. See Compl., Walters v. Century Int'l Arms, Inc., No. 93-5118-CV-SW-1 (W.D.Mo. Nov. 4, 1993). After being served with petitioners' complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a)(2)-(4), China returned the documents, claiming sovereign immunity, and thereafter entered no appearance in the Missouri action. The district court nevertheless proceeded to conduct a bench trial and, on October 22, 1996, entered a default judgment against China for $10 million (Missouri default judgment). See Final Judgment, Walters v. Century Int'l Arms, Inc., No. 93-5118-CV-SW-1 (W.D.Mo. Oct. 22, 1996). In doing so, the Missouri district court determined that it had jurisdiction over China under FSIA exceptions to sovereign immunity for carrying on commercial activity within the United States, see 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2), and committing a tortious act or omission causing damages in this country, id. § 1605(a)(5). [1] The district court dismissed without prejudice petitioners' claims against the single Chinese-controlled corporation then remaining in the case. [2] Over the next ten years, the Walters unsuccessfully attempted to collect on the Missouri default judgment. Their 1998 motion in the Western District of Missouri for an order of attachment and execution in the amount of $10 million was denied for failure to identify any property belonging to China falling within one of the FSIA exceptions to execution immunity listed in 28 U.S.C. § 1610(a) or (b). See Order, Walters v. People's Republic of China , No. 93-5118-CV-SW-1 (W.D.Mo. Dec. 18, 1998). [3] The Walters' 2001 effort to execute the judgment upon two Chinese giant pandas on loan to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., prompted an appearance in opposition by the United States and, in the end, a dismissal on consent with prejudice. See Order, Walters v. People's Republic of China , No. 93-5118-CV-SW-1 (W.D.Mo. Aug. 5, 2002). In October 2006, with the ten-year-old judgment still unsatisfied, the district court for the Western District of Missouri granted petitioners' request to extend the judgment for another ten years. See Order, Walters v. People's Republic of China , No. 93-5118-CV-SWDW (W.D.Mo. Oct. 18, 2006); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1962 (providing for federal judgment to operate as lien in same manner and time as state judgment); Mo. S.Ct. R. 74.08-.09 (providing for judgments to expire after ten years, subject to motion for revival).