A Foreign judgment can come in two forms; a legal judgment rendered in another state or a judgment entered in another country. Under the Florida Domestication of Foreign Judgements Act, Florida courts have been afforded the ability to enforce foreign judgments entered in other. Judgment creditors can also rely on Florida’s Uniform Out-of-country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act in order for Florida courts to enforce judgments made in foreign countries.
To domesticate a foreign judgment, it has to meet certain criteria set forth by Florida Statutes. The criteria surrounds the underlying or original court proceedings that led to the entry of the foreign judgment. Some foreign judgment may not be recognized in the Florida courts if:
- The court system that entered it is not impartial or is incompatible with the due process of the law.
- The foreign court did not have jurisdiction over either the defendant or the subject matter.
- The defendant did not receive notice of the proceedings with adequate time to defend him/herself.
- The judgment was obtained by fraud.
- The judgment conflicts with another final or conclusive order.
The complete set of grounds for nonrecognition of a foreign judgment is found in Section 55.605 of the Florida Statutes. To be certain your foreign judgment meets the requisite criteria for domestication under Florida laws, you should want to consult a lawyer who practices in this area of law.
Steps to Domestication Foreign Judgment
To domesticate a foreign judgment, the judgment holder (formerly called the “plaintiff”) is required to submit specific documents to the clerk of the court in Florida. With the guidance of an experienced attorney, you may be able to locate real or personal assets of the judgment debtor (formerly the “defendant”) and then you record and file in the county in which the assets you wish to seize or take a lien against are located.
The clerks will require a certified copy of the judgment from the foreign court that rendered it in your favor along with an affidavit that contains the name, social security number, and last known addresses for the judgment creditor and the judgment debtor.
After the clerk records the judgment and affidavit, a notice to the judgment debtor is sent by the clerk which provides them with 30 days to challenge the validity of the judgment. There are certain instances where a judgment debtor can raise a valid challenge, so its important to seek the advice and guidance of an attorney with experience in foreign judgment domestication. In the absence of any challenge, the judgment will thereafter be considered final and will have the same effect as though it was issued by the Florida court you domesticated it in. It is at this juncture the judgment creditor is allowed to utilize Florida’s post judgment collection remedies such as levy and sale, garnishment, debtor examinations and in certain situations, proceedings supplementary if applicable.
Post Judgment Execution
Once a Florida court recognizes the judgment creditor’s domesticated foreign judgment, execution vehicles such as garnishment, levy and sale and charging liens may be some of the available remedies to collect on your judgment. Identifying hard target assets involves public searches, private data base searches and often good old-fashioned investigative research. A judgment debtor’s assets and any transfers the judgment debtor has made become subject to your post judgment proceedings. For instance, if a judgment debtor has an interest in a limited liability company, that interest may be subject to a charging lien wherein those interests if eligible for any dividends, can be ordered by the court payable towards satisfaction of the judgment. If a judgment debtor maintains a bank account or is employed, a writ of garnishment can be issued directing the bank or employer to freeze funds due the judgment debtor until the court renders a determination as to whether those funds are subject to your judgment.
Often a person or company’s assets are not readily visible and a judgment debtor may own assets in their name or jointly with someone else. Discovery for post judgment proceedings operates similarly to discovery prior to judgment being awarded and a judgment debtor or perhaps third parties with knowledge can be deposed or served with production demands that will disclose the true ownership or holdings of a judgment debtor.
Often during post judgment discovery, it is discovered that a judgment debtor transferred assets or control of assets to a third party. Florida proceedings supplementary the means by which a judgment creditor applies for access to call upon a third party believed to have received or who has control of a judgments assets to appear and show cause why those particular assets should not be applied towards payment of the judgment.
Since every scenario is different and collecting on foreign judgment in Florida can be technical and procedurally complicated, a Florida lawyer with experience and dedication to foreign judgment enforcement is recommended.