SENATE, No. 1579
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED OCTOBER 3, 1996
By Senator MATHEUSSEN
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;
"Foreign country 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 country 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 country 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 country 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 country money-judgment is not conclusive if:
(1) the judgment 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 country court did not have personal jurisdiction over the judgment debtor; or
(3) the foreign country court did not have jurisdiction over the subject matter.
b. A foreign country money-judgment need not be recognized if:
(1) the judgment debtor in the proceedings in the foreign country court did not receive notice of the proceedings in sufficient time to enable the judgment debtor to defend;
(2) the judgment was obtained by fraud;
(3) the cause of action on which the foreign judgment is based is contrary to the public policy of this State;
(4) the judgment conflicts with a prior final and conclusive judgment;
(5) the proceedings in the foreign country court were 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 country court was a seriously inconvenient forum for the trial of the action.
6. a. The foreign judgment shall not be refused recognition for lack of personal jurisdiction if:
(1) the judgment debtor was served personally in the foreign state;
(2) the judgment debtor 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 the judgment debtor;
(3) the judgment debtor prior to the commencement of the proceedings had agreed expressly in writing to submit to the jurisdiction of the foreign country court with respect to the subject matter involved;
(4) the judgment debtor was domiciled in the foreign state when the proceedings were instituted, or being a body corporate, had its principal place of business or had otherwise acquired corporate status in the foreign state;
(5) the judgment debtor had a business office in the foreign state and the proceedings in the foreign country court involved a cause of action arising out of business done by the judgment debtor through that office in the foreign state; or
(6) the judgment debtor 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 personal jurisdiction.
7. If the judgment debtor satisfies the court that an appeal from the foreign country judgment is pending or that the judgment debtor is entitled and intends to appeal from the foreign country judgment, or that a stay of execution has been granted, 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 judgment debtor to prosecute the appeal.
8. This act does not prevent the recognition of a foreign country 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 foreign country money-judgements which embodies rules that the majority of courts in this country have long applied. It provides that a foreign country 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."