Matanuska Valley Lines, Inc., a Corporation of the Territory of Alaska v. Frank H. Molitor

On July 26, 1956, Matanuska Valley Lines, Inc. (Matanuska) obtained a default judgment in the sum of $21,418.95 against Frank H. Molitor in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1963 (1964), Matanuska registered the judgment on September 10,1964 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. On June 11, 1965, the judgment creditor commenced supplemental proceedings on the registered judgment in the latter court. On motion of Molitor, that court entered an order abating the proceedings on the ground that enforcement of the registered judgment is barred by the Washington statute of limitations. Matanuska appeals. We affirm.

Under the laws of Alaska, the effective life and lien of a judgment obtained in Alaska is ten years. Title 9, Chap. 30, Alaska Statutes Annotated (1962). The judgment obtained in Alaska by Matanuska was registered in the Washington district court, and the supplemental proceedings thereon were commenced, within this ten-year period. However, under Wash.Rev.Code 4.16.140 and 6.36.020, a foreign judgment is not enforceable in Washington, or registrable “in any court” of that state, after…