湖北葛洲坝三联公司向美国法院申请执行中国法院就美国罗宾逊公司所供直升机产品责任损害判决案评析

Comment on the Case:The Chinese Company Hubei Gezhouba Sanlian Industrial Co.Ltd.Seeks the Enforcement of PRC Court Judgment against the American Company Robinson Helicopter Company Inc for the Damages Caused by Its Supplied Defective Helicopter

湖北葛洲坝三联实业股份有限公司向美国罗宾逊直升机有限公司购买的直升机因产品质量问题而坠毁。中国公司先在美国起诉,美国公司以法院不方便管辖为理由,要求移交中国法院审理。中国法院作出不利于美国公司的判决,中国公司向美国法院申请执行中国法院的判决。美国公司企图以法律文书送达不当、超过诉讼时效为由,要求美国法院驳回执行请求。美国联邦地区法院认为中国判决超过时效,驳回中国公司的请求。但美国联邦上诉法院则根据《海牙公约》和美国法律,认为中国法院判决没有超过时效,从而支持了中国公司的请求。本文在概述案情、法院推理的基础上,就本案涉及的法律问题进行了评析,以便对今后中国企业在类似的涉美诉讼中有所借鉴。

This article is about the case Hubei Gezhouba Sanlian Industrial Co., Ltd. v. Robinson Helicopter Company Inc. The helicopter designed and manufactured by Robinson Helicopter Company Inc., （＂RHC＂） crashed into the Yangtze River. The complaint in the California State Action alleged damages from the crash against RHC based on theories of negligence, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty. RHC moved to stay or dismiss the California State Action on the ground of forum non conveniens,but didn＇t attend the trial in China. Later, the plaintiffs filed their complaint in this action seeking to enforce the PRC Judgment. However＇ the district Court granted Summary Judgment in favor of defendant on the ground that the statute of limitations had expired before the Chinese lawsuit was filed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its memorandum decision in this case ruling the action in the PRC was not barred by the statute of limitations. Finally, the United States District Court California recognized the PRC judgment. This article briefly introduced the facts of the case, analyzed the reasoning of the Court＇s decision, then commented on some legal issues of this case.