Court Opinion

ID: 9847082
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 03:53:27.275212+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:00.372660
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
concurring specially.
1. The record shows without dispute that defendants in the Florida action had personal service of the suit yet failed to respond as summoned. The defendants cannot lie in wait and allow their opponents to obtain a judgment and then challenge the original jurisdiction when the judgment creditor seeks to domesticate the judgment, when the defendants have had a full and fair opportunity to contest jurisdiction in the first suit. By not denying jurisdiction when it is properly alleged, they admit. As reasoned in the analogous case of Aiken v. Bynum, 128 Ga. App. 212, 213 (2) (196 SE2d 180) (1973), [physical precedent but cited without reservation in Van Buskirk v. Great American Bank, 175 Ga. App. 101, 102 (332 SE2d 394) (1985), “[They] had actual notice of the suit and could have appeared for the limited purpose of challenging [jurisdiction]. ‘Allowing a case to go to default judgment is not better than allowing a case to be tried on the merits before coming in with a technical defense.’ ” The same principle is applied in Van Buskirk, supra at 102. It also reiterated: “According to Georgia law, . . . the defenses of lack of jurisdiction and insufficiency of process are waived where the defendant has notice of the suit and could have appeared to challenge personal jurisdiction, but elects to do nothing and suffers a default judgment. Echols v. Dyches, 140 Ga. App. 191 (230 SE2d 315).” Green Acres Discount v. Freid & Appell, 135 Ga. App. 816, 817 (219 SE2d 39) (1975), states the rule succinctly: “When a party is personally served he is subject to the in personam jurisdiction of the courts of a foreign state and *637cannot collaterally attack a judgment of such court. Drake v. Drake, 187 Ga. 423 (5) (1 SE2d 573).” Accord Tandy Computer Leasing v. Bennett’s Svc. Co., 188 Ga. App. 594, 595 (373 SE2d 647) (1988).
Decided February 23, 1990.
Eleanor R. Dotson, for appellant.
J. Robert Morgan, for appellees.
It appears, however, that something more is needed. The record must show that the matter of jurisdiction was at least alleged and proved in the foreign judgment case or that the court made such a finding; where this is not done, “ ‘the issue may be raised in Georgia in defense of an action on the judgment in a Georgia court.’ (Berry [v. Jeff Hunt Machinery Co., 148 Ga. App. 35 (250 SE2d 813)]; Process Systems v. Dixie Pkg. Co., 137 Ga. App. 452 (224 SE2d 103)).” Ramseur v. American Mgmt. Assn., 155 Ga. App. 340, 341 (2) (270 SE2d 880) (1980).
The Florida petition is not in the record, so the trial court could not know what it alleged, if anything, regarding jurisdiction, and consequently what facts in this regard, if any, defendants admitted by failing to respond. Also, since the deputy sheriff’s return of service states only that “a copy of the within petition” was served on defendants, the court could not know whether they also received the summons.
2. In the Georgia domestication action, the plaintiff creditor filed a request for admission of fact and authenticity of documents on July 21, having served it on July 19. Defendants did not reply to the same within 30 days as required by OCGA § 9-11-36 (a) (2) but instead, after the time had past, sought an extension which has not been ruled on. Even if these requests should be considered as admissions, see National Bank of Ga. v. Merritt, 130 Ga. App. 85, 86 (1) (202 SE2d 193) (1973), there is no request for admission of the Florida court’s jurisdiction over the defendants in the Florida suit.