Domestication and Enforcement of Judgments
You have won your civil case and gotten a judgment. The time for all appeals and post-trial motions has ended. Enforcement of judgments is usually the last step. A judgment in your favor provides enforceable rights, usually the right to be paid by the judgment debtor and often providing non-monetary rights as well. In many cases, happily, this is the end of the road.
But what if the money owed is not paid by the judgment debtor? Legal procedures to enforce a judgment and collect are available in state and federal courts throughout the United States. Generally, if the judgment debtor has money or assets in the state where the judgment was entered, then you can use the procedures available in the court that entered the judgment.
What can be done, however, if money or assets of the judgment debtor are located in another state, not in the state where the court that entered the judgment is located? In this situation, recording the judgment in a court in the state where the assets are located is necessary. For example, suppose the judgment debtor has no assets in State A where the judgment was entered, but does have assets in State B. When a judgment from a state court in State A is recorded in a state court in State B, you can use the execution and garnishment procedures of State B to enforce and collect the amount due under the judgment. This is known as Domestication of a Judgement. Some states require creditors to essentially “start over” and file a whole new lawsuit in the new state in which they wish to domesticate their judgment. However, most states have adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (UEFJA). The UEFJA allows the creditor to obtain an effective judgment in a different state by just filing proof of their judgment, providing the last known address of the debtor and creditor, and paying the correct filing fees. This is quicker and more cost effective than filing a separate action. Most states, including the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the UEFJA. Only California, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Vermont have not.
After the correct papers have been filed with the clerk of the court, the clerk will send notice to the debtor. The debtor will have a certain number of days (specified by the jurisdiction) to respond. If the debtor does not timely respond, the judgment will be entered and will be the same as any other judgment. If the debtor does respond in a timely manner, he may request a hearing to dispute the enforcement of the judgment or the timeliness of the enforcement. However, the debtor is normally restricted to “procedural” defenses. For example the debtor can show that the original court lacked jurisdiction or that the debtor was not properly served. Otherwise, the debtor cannot dispute the actual debt or judgment. The previous court has already made a decision on the merits of the case.
