Domestication/Domesticating Foreign Judgments/Registering Foreign Judgments
In the world of collections, from time to time, a creditor will end up with a judgment in one state and a debtor in another. When this occurs, there are certain steps that must be taken in order to get to, and take control of, the assets of the defendant/judgment debtor.
The first step is to “domesticate” the judgment after it has become final in the home state of the judgment debtor. This involves following the process set forth in the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (“UEFJA”) that has been adopted by each and every state of the union..
The UEFJA codifies the Full Faith and Credit Cause of the United States Constitution. Under the old regime, a judgment would be filed in a new lawsuit, the purpose of which was to prove that the judgment was obtained properly. The UEFJA somewhat simplifies the process by mandating the adherence to certain rules and regulations. After following the proper steps, the judgment is “domesticated” and is treated as a Texas judgment for all intents and purposes. It can then be abstracted and executed upon.
Once the judgment has been domesticated in Texas for at least thirty (30) days, it becomes a “final judgment” under Texas law, and the holder of the judgment can use all of the post-judgment remedies available to execute (collect) on the judgment.
Your Texas attorney can handle this process for you, if you have already obtained a judgment outside of Texas. Domesticating the judgment in Texas should be part of the comprehensive service provided to you by a Texas Collections or Commercial Litigation Attorney.
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