ASSEMBLY, No. 2221

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED JUNE 27, 1996

By Assemblymen BAGGER and WISNIEWSKI

An Act concerning foreign money-judgments and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act."

    2. As used in this act:

    "Foreign state" means any governmental unit other than the United States, or any state, district, commonwealth, territory or insular possession thereof, or the Panama Canal Zone, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or the Ryukyu Islands;

    "Foreign money-judgment" means any judgment of a foreign state granting or denying recovery of a sum of money, other than a judgment for taxes, a fine or other penalty, or a judgment for support in matrimonial or family matters.

    3. This act applies to any foreign money-judgment that is final and conclusive and enforceable where rendered even though an appeal from it is pending or it is subject to appeal.

    4. Except as provided in section 5 of this act, a foreign money-judgment meeting the requirements of section 3 of this act is conclusive between the parties to the extent that it grants or denies recovery of a sum of money. The foreign money-judgment is enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit.

    5. a. A foreign money-judgment is not conclusive if:

    (1) the judgement was rendered under a system which does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law;

    (2) the foreign court did not have personal jurisdiction over the defendant; or

    (3) the foreign court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.

    b. A foreign money-judgment need not be recognized if:

    (1) the defendant in the proceedings in the foreign court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to defend;

    (2) the judgment was obtained by fraud;

    (3) the cause of action on which the judgment is based is repugnant to the public policy of this State;

    (4) the judgment conflicts with another final and conclusive judgment;

    (5) the proceeding in the foreign court was contrary to an agreement between the parties under which the dispute in question was to be settled, other than by proceedings in that court; or

    (6) in the case of jurisdiction based only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action.

    6. a. The foreign money-judgment shall not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if:

    (1) the defendant was served personally in the foreign state;

    (2) the defendant voluntarily appeared in the proceedings, other than for the purpose of protecting property seized or threatened with seizure in the proceedings or of contesting the jurisdiction of the court over him;

    (3) prior to the commencement of the proceedings, the defendant had agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign court with respect to the subject matter involved;

    (4) the defendant was domiciled in the foreign state when the proceedings were instituted, or being a body corporate, had its principal place of business, was incorporated, or had otherwise acquired corporate status, in the foreign state;

    (5) the defendant had a business office in the foreign state and the proceedings in the foreign court involved a cause of action arising out of business done by the defendant through that office in the foreign state; or

    (6) the defendant operated a motor vehicle or airplane in the foreign state and the proceedings involved a cause of action arising out of that operation.

    b. The courts of this State may recognize other bases of jurisdiction.

    7. If the defendant satisfies the court either that an appeal is pending or that he is entitled and intends to appeal from the foreign money-judgment, the court may stay the proceedings until the appeal has been determined or until the expiration of a period of time sufficient to enable the defendant to prosecute the appeal.

    8. This act does not prevent the recognition of a foreign money-judgment in situations not covered by this act.

    9. This act shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it.

    10. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill, entitled the "Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act," prescribes a uniform procedure for the enforcement of money-judgements which embodies rules that the majority of courts in this country have long applied. It provides that a money-judgment entitled to recognition will be enforceable in the same manner as the judgment of a court of a sister state which is entitled to full faith and credit. The bill provides as the bases for the assumption of personal jurisdiction those bases which are generally accepted today and preserves for the courts the right to recognize still other bases. Because the bill is not selective and applies to judgments from any foreign court, the bill states that judgments rendered under a system without impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with the requirements of due process of law shall neither be recognized nor enforced.

    By definition, the bill excludes judgments for taxes or for support in matrimonial or family matters, normally covered by treaty or convention. The further exclusion of fines or other penalties is consistent with the established principle observed by U.S. courts that a country will not enforce foreign penal judgments.

Enacts the "Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act."