OTOS TECH CO., LTD. v. OGK AMERICA, INC., et al
Filing
112
OPINION. Signed by Judge William H. Walls on 11/2/2011. (nr, )
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
OTOS TECH CO., LTD.,
Plaintiff,
OPINION
V.
OGK AMERICA, INC. & YALE KIM
A!K/A/YOUIS[GIL KIM.,
Civ. No. 03-1979 (WHW)
Defendants.
Walls, Senior District Judge
Defendants OGK America, Inc. and Yale Kim (“OGK”) request a warrant of satisfaction
of the judgment for $587,755.05 in favor of the plaintiff, Otos Tech Co., Ltd. (“Otos”). The
motion is granted.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
The facts of this case have been fully laid out in this Court’s most recent opinion on this
matter. Otos Tech Co., Ltd. v. OGK Am., Inc., Civ. No. 03-1979, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
133107, at *2..4 (D.N.J. Dec. 16, 2010). The relevant facts to this proceeding are set out briefly.
Otos obtained a judgment against the defendants in this Court in the amount of
$587,755.05 for conversion of three checks. Dkt. 45. Otos obtained ajudgment for an equivalent
amount in Korean currency for the same three checks in the Supreme Court of Korea. Otos Tech
Co.. Ltd., Civ. No. 03-1979, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133107, at *2. Defendant Kim has paid
807,619,134 South Korean Won under the Korean judgment. Id. at *3• “[TJhe Korean court
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
found that the Korean judgment had been fully satisfied.” Id. at *3.4 (citing February 16, 2009
Korean Order).
Nonetheless, Otos filed a motion to enforce the Korean judgment in this Court.
at *l.
2. Otos argued that “due to fluctuations in the exchange rate, the amount it has been paid under
the Korean judgment is worth substantially less than the amount it would have received under
the American judgment.” j at *8. This Court found that
Both parties agree that [the Korean judgment] serves as compensation for the
conversion of the checks.
As a plaintiff may not ‘receive more than one
recovery for the same harm,’ Otos may not seek to ‘enforce’ the Korean judgment
here by claiming that a different exchange rate should be used. This would result
in a double recovery for Otos and is to be avoided.
...
Id. at *910 (internal citations omitted). This Court then held that “The Korean judgment is valid
and has been fully satisfied.” Id. at *10.
The Third Circuit affirmed, stating that “The record now appears clear that Kim has
satisfied the Korean judgment. A Korean court has explicitly held as much and Otos has not
contested this fact below or on appeal.
...
We therefore agree with the District Court’s
conclusion that the judgment in this case ‘has been fully satisfied.” Otos Tech Co.. Ltd. v. OGK
Am., Inc., 653 F.3d 310, 313 (3d Cir. 2011).
Defendants have moved for entry of a warrant of satisfaction for the American judgment
because “Otos refuses to enter a warrant of satisfaction for its American judgment
.. . .“
P1. Br. at
1 (Dkt. 109). On October 3, 2011 Otos filed a brief in opposition to the defendants’ motion. Dkt.
110. On October 4, 2011 Otos withdrew its opposition to the motion for a warrant of satisfaction,
leaving the motion unopposed. Dkt. 111.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(5) states “On motion and just terms, the court may
relieve a party
...
from a final judgment
been satisfied
....“
...
for the following reasons:
...
(5) the judgment has
See also Sunderland v. Phila., 575 F.2d 1089, 1090 (3d Cir. 1978) (“It is true
that a trial judge has considerable discretion in deciding motions under Rule 60(b). But a district
court does not have discretion to require two satisfactions
....“
(internal citation omitted)). “The
only question is whether the judgment from which relief is sought has, indeed, been satisfied.”
12 James Wm. Moore, et al., Moore’s Federal Practice
§ 60.45 (2011).
DISCUSSION
As laid out in this Court’s most recent opinion and affirmed in the Third Circuit’s most
recent opinion on this case, there is no question that this judgment has been satisfied. Otos Tech
Co., Ltd., 653 F.3d at 310; Otos Tech Co., Ltd., Civ. No. 03-1979, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
133107, at * 8-10. The American judgment and the Korean judgment both awarded the value of
the same three checks. Otos can only recover once for that claim. The South Korean court has
clearly held that its judgment was fully satisfied.
Allowing Otos to recover on its American
judgment would allow it to obtain double recovery. It follows that the judgment Otos obtained in
this court has been fully satisfied by the payments defendants made in South Korea.
CONCLUSION
This Court’s judgment in favor of Otos has been fully satisfied through payments made
by defendants in the South Korean proceedings over the same three checks. OGK’s motion for
entry of a warrant of satisfaction is granted.
Judge
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