Enforcing a Judgment Across State Lines

This article/publication excerpted from the CLLA discusses very general guidelines regarding the enforcement of judgments in states other the state where the judgment was originally ordered — commonly referred to as a “foreign judgment.”

There are two primary reasons why a creditor might seek to enforce a judgment in a state other than the state where the judgment was originally ordered.

• The debtor has moved to another state and there are no verifiable assets to satisfy the judgment in the original state.
• The debtor may not have moved but assets are discovered in another state that are available to satisfy the judgment.

Be aware that a judgment in one state is not automatically enforced in another state.

Generally, judgments can be enforced in a couple of ways.  A new suit may be brought based on the judgment. Or, in those states that have adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (the Act), a foreign judgment (that is defined as a judgment of any state or federal court) may be registered by filing an exemplified copy of the foreign judgment with the Court and notifying the debtor of the filing.

An exemplified judgment is a copy of the judgment that a certificate has been attached and signed off, attesting to the authenticity and validity of the judgment.  A judgment that has been registered is viewed as a judgment issued out of the Court in which the foreign judgment was filed, and all available local enforcement procedures would be available to the creditor.

Use caution — the Act is not uniform in all states — and in those states a new law suit must be filed to enforce the judgment.

States that have adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VI, WA, WV, WI, WY.

**The information provided in this publication is intended as a general guide only.  The Commercial Law League of America (CLLA) does not make any representations as to the accuracy of the publication’s content.  Any person who seeks to initiate enforcement action across state lines (a foreign judgment) should consult legal counsel for full details on the law of a particular state.