Recognition and Enforcement of Judgment

Question 1

What is the state handing down the judgment called?

What is the state recognizing the judgment called?

Answer 1

1. The rendering state.
2. Recognizing state.

Question 2

Sister State Judgment

Answer 2

1. Is the judgment entitle to full faith and credit (always determined by looking at rendering state law)?

• Valid jurisdictions in the rendering court over both the parties and the subject matter of the litigation.
• Judgment must be a final judgment (cannot be modifiable); and
• The judgment must be rendered on the merits.
  
  • Except: Default and Consent judgments.

2. No valid defenses apply (only 2 good defenses)

• Judgment is penal (a judgment rendered for an offense against the public).
  
  • Punitive damages are not penal! Must be a criminal sanction or civil fine.
  • Winner must be the government, not a private person or entity.
• Extrinsic Fraud (Fraud that could not have been coped with at the earlier trial).
  
  • Intrinsic fraud (perjury by witness) is NOT a good defense. You could have dealt with that in the earlier case by impeaching credibility.
  • Extrinsic fraud is almost always bribing of a judge.

Question 3

Defenses that will not work for Full Faith and Credit

Answer 3

1. The judgment is based on a cause of action that violates the forum state’s public policy.
2. Mistakes by the judge (remedy for such mistakes is to appeal judgment).
3. Inconsistent Judgments

• A later judgment can be enforced even though inconsistent with a valid earlier one.
• SCOTUS Rule: Enforce the last judgment in time.

Question 4

Foreign Country Judgments

Answer 4

Rule: These can be recognized and enforced under principles of fairness, provided that a two-part comity test:

1. Jurisdiciton must have been proper (fundamental fairness/minimum contacts); and
2. Fair procedure must have been used in the foreign country proceeding.

Question 5

Family Law Judgment

Answer 5

Rule: Recognition and enforcement of family law judgments involves consideration of jurisdiction, both SMJ and PJ.

Three types of judgments, each with its own different jurisdictional requiremetns

• Divorce
• Property; and
• Child custody.

Question 6

Divorce

Answer 6

Rule: A valid divorce requires proper subject-matter jurisdiction and this requires that one of the two spouses be domiciled in the state rendering the divorce.

• Ex-Parte Divorce: Only one of the spouses is validly domiciled where the divorce is granted.
• The Bi-Lateral Divorce: Where one of the spouses is validly domiciled where the divorce is granted, and both spouses are subject to personal jurisdiction there.
• Consent Divorce (the quickie): Where both want out of the marriage and go somewhere together to get it (NOT Valid).

NOTE: For any kind of divorce to be valid there must be a valid domicile of at least on of the parties to give the necessary subject-matter jurisdiction.

Question 7

Procedural Matters on Divorces

Answer 7

1. Burden of Proof: The attacker bears the burden of proof and can introduce any relevant evidence whatever, even if the evidence came into existence after the divorce was granted.

2. Any interested person who is not estopped can attack a divorce decree for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction (strangers to the marraige can’t attack).

Question 8

Estoppel of Divorce

Answer 8

Four situations:

1. Where the attacker was subject to personal jurisdiciton in the earlier proceeding, thus the spouse in a bi-lateral divorce cannot later attack that divorce.
2. Where the attacker may not have been subjecto to personal jurisdiction in the earlier proceeding, but the attacker played a meaningful role in the granting of the divorce.
3. Persons who are in privity with a party to the divorce (children are estopped).
4. A spouse who has remarried in reliance on the earlier divorce.

Question 9

Property Awards (Alimony, child support)

Answer 9

Rule: A court granting alimony or child support must have personal jurisdiction over the spouse whose property rights are in issue.

Question 10

Child Custody Decree

Answer 10

Rule: Valid Jurisdiction for determing child custody lies only in the child’s home state.

Question 11

Divisible Divorce Doctrine

Answer 11

Rule: If a decree has some parts that are good and some that are bad, you keep the good and ignore the rest.

Question 12

Federal Courts

Answer 12

Rule: By statute, federal and state courts are required to recognize one another’s judgments.