A Florida court has entered a judgment of more than $1.4 million against John A. Thompson Jr., an unlicensed contractor, after finding he misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from a farm renovation account. The woman who won that judgment has now moved to collect it through Perry County Circuit Court.
Margaret Lynn Donoghue filed a notice of foreign judgment in Perry County on July 2, seeking to enforce the Florida ruling under the Alabama Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. The filing, entered as case number 53-CV-2026-900031.00 and brought by Selma attorney Vonda K. Bonham, asks the court to recognize the out-of-state judgment so it can be enforced in Alabama as if it had been entered here.
Under the act, the judgment becomes enforceable after a 30-day period. According to the filing, $1,108,975.65 remains due, together with accruing interest.
Thompson’s address of record, on Highway 219, lies in east Perry County, which places the collection action in circuit court here. The property carries a Selma mailing address, as much of that end of the county does.
The underlying case originated in the Circuit Court for Marion County, Florida, where Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon entered the judgment on Jan. 9. According to court records, Donoghue, a Canadian citizen whose time in the United States is limited to six months a year, opened a checking account in 2018 to pay for a construction project at her farm in Marion County and gave Thompson, whom she had hired to oversee the work, authority to write checks on the account. More than $541,000 was deposited.
A certified fraud examiner retained by Donoghue, Belinda M. Kitos, reviewed every disbursement from the account and concluded that of the $541,000 Thompson withdrew, only about $130,000 could be traced to Donoghue’s project.
The remaining $411,000, the report found, went to improvements on other properties Thompson owned personally or through an affiliated company, to undocumented and unrepaid loans to himself, his wife, and his companies, and to personal expenses. The court found the analysis constituted overwhelming documentary evidence supporting the conclusion.
In its summary final judgment, the court found Thompson liable on several grounds arising from the same $411,000, including breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
The court further found the conduct amounted to civil theft under Florida law and tripled the $411,000 to $1,233,000. With prejudgment interest of $183,645.70 added, the total judgment came to $1,416,645.70.
The balance now sought in Perry County is lower because Thompson has been credited with roughly $307,670 in offsets since the judgment was entered, largely from escrowed funds the court ordered released to Donoghue. Post-judgment interest continues to accrue at Florida’s statutory rate of 8.44 percent.
Court records show Thompson has appealed the Florida judgment. He has not, however, posted the bond required to halt enforcement while the appeal is pending, and under Florida procedure the appeal does not stay collection without one. That is what allows Donoghue to pursue the judgment in Alabama now.
The Florida court reserved authority to consider awards of punitive damages and attorney’s fees. In Perry County, the judgment becomes enforceable as an Alabama judgment once the statutory period runs.
